


and i'll never go home again

by ambrosespellmanz



Series: the kids aren't alright [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, By Lorde, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Multi, cheryl/josie brotp too, i tried to do slow burn, josie and kevin are the new kids, title inspired by buzzcut season
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2020-08-19 12:17:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 22,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20209615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambrosespellmanz/pseuds/ambrosespellmanz
Summary: “There’s nothing like being the new kids again.”“Don’t worry, Kevin. I’m sure you’ll make tons of friends.”





	1. The River's Edge

Josie stuffs her hands in the pocket of her hoodie, leaning back in the yellow bean bag chair. They were finally letting her go home after three months. Three months of loneliness and isolation. Her only visitors had been her mother and Kevin which had been partially her fault.

She had begged them not to tell anyone and avoided all forms of social media and ignored all calls from her friends. Eventually, they took the hint and stopped calling.

Kevin and his dad were packing up her stuff and putting it in the moving truck while she had her last session with her therapist, Dr. O’Dell.

“I know your mom already signed your release papers but still have to ask a few questions to make sure you’re ready. Procedure,” he explains.

Josie nods, “Bring it on, Mr. O.”

“Any thoughts of suicide?”

“No.”

“Thoughts of harming yourself or others?”

“Nope.”

“Do you feel safe going home?”

“I’m not going home. I’m moving, remember?” Her words drip with bitterness. She didn’t want to move but her mother had already decided.

“Ah, yes. Riverdale, right?”

“Yup. Riverdale.”

Apparently, her mother’s new boyfriend had gotten a job offer that he simply couldn’t refuse. That was the excuse she used anyway. Josie knew the real reason they were moving.

“I have a friend there, Geraldine Grundy. She was in the program just like you. I’m assigning her as your sponsor, she hosts some AA meetings down there too.”

“No offense, doc, but I don’t need one of those or any meetings.”

“No one does until they do. It’s just extra help, Josie.”

“Fine.”

“Okay. Have you had any thoughts of relapsing, or any plans to relapse?”

Josie glances down at her feet, she feels uncomfortable every time she thinks about what happened. 

“Never.”

He nods, checking another box off his list.

Dr. O’Dell closes his folder, clearing his throat as he stands to his feet, “In that case, you’re free to go, Josie. Take care of yourself.”

She mimics him, shifting from one foot to the other. She couldn’t believe she was finally getting out of here. Jinx meows, Josie bending down and picking her cat up.

She shakes his hand with her free one then turns and walks out of the room, staring straight ahead as she walks through the halls. It feels like a huge weight lifts off her shoulders as she steps outside. 

Then she lays eyes on the U-HAUL truck and the moment is cut short. Her mom told her Tom would be driving the moving truck while they rode in the car.

Josie straightens up when she sees her mother’s car approaching. She slides into the passenger seat, placing Jinx on her lap. 

“Do we have to move?”

“Riverdale isn’t that bad, honey. It’s not Malibu but the change of scenery might be good for us. We could all use a fresh start.”

“Whatever,” Josie mumbles, leaning forward to turn the radio up higher.

::

About two hours into driving, they stop at a burger joint. They’re escorted to a table near the windows, Josie slides into the booth next to Kevin and across from her mom. Her first meal outside of rehab and it was going to be a greasy burger from a diner on the side of the road.

She orders a bowl of milk for Jinx and places it on the floor next to the table. At least, she’d have one friend.

Tom clears his throat before speaking, “I know this is a lot to get used to.”

“Oh, is it?” Josie retorts sarcastically, “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Josie,” her mother gives her a warning look, “remember what we talked about?”

She practically bristles, “This is me trying.”

The waiter returns with their drinks and the conversation ceases for the time being.

::

The drive is long, Kevin falls asleep and wakes up numerous times. It takes them about a day and a half to reach their destination.

Josie frowns as they pass the town sign. “What type of backwoods town is this?”

“You can’t judge a book by its cover, Josephine.”

“Says who?”

They stop in front of an old looking house, Josie getting out of the car and coming to a stop beside Kevin as the four of them take it all in. 

Kevin’s dad sighs wistfully, “I grew up in this house.”

Vines covered half the house, there a was a swing on the porch, and the outside could use a serious paint job. She didn’t want to know what the inside looked like. Jinx leaps onto the swing and makes herself comfortable. 

Her mom claps her hands together, gaining all their attention, “Let’s start moving in.”

Josie exchanges an exasperated look with Kevin. Why couldn’t they just hire movers?

::

Kevin collapses on the floor once they’re done, resting his head on her shoulder. Josie pats his knee sympathetically. Jinx is in her room, asleep.

“There, there.”

Her mother shakes her head at them disapprovingly, “Go to bed. You’ll need a good night of rest before school tomorrow.”

“Great. More torture.”

Kevin stands up before her, Josie holding out her hands for him to help her up. 

“There’s nothing like being the new kids again.”

“Don’t worry, Kevin. I’m sure you’ll make tons of friends.”

He sighs, “I don’t want new friends. I want to be back in Malibu with our old friends—Buzz and Pepper and the twins. Don’t you?”

She’s not sure. Seeing them will mean she’ll have to eventually tell them what happened and she’s not ready for that yet.

“It doesn’t matter. We’re here now and I don’t think we’re going back home anytime soon.”

This was their home now. 

“Okay, Dorothy. I’m going to sleep so I’ll see you in the morning I guess. Night.”

“Good night.”

She watches him walk away before shuffling off towards her own room. Her new room.

Fuck. This was going to take some serious getting used too.

::

Kevin smacks his hand roughly against the door, yelling for whoever was on the other side to hurry up. He didn’t have to deal with this when it was just him and his dad.

Finally, the door opens up, Josie rolling her eyes when she sees him.

“Patience is a virtue, Kevin.”

She goes back to her room and starts to get ready. Normally, she’d have her outfit all picked out and ready the night before, but she was exhausted after all the moving boxes inside and unpacking.

Josie decides to go with something simple, that’ll attract the least amount of attention.

Dark skinny jeans, yellow sweater, and her favorite pair of stiletto boots. She yanks her sleeve down to cover her bracelet, not wanting to risk anyone recognizing what exactly it was and asking her about it.

Josie bounds down the stairs, her curls bouncing freely with each step. She had chosen to wear her hair down today.

She makes her way into the kitchen, stealing a piece of bacon from her mom’s plate.

“If you had woken up on time, you’d be eating off your own plate.”

“I’ll try better next time.”

Her mother gives her one of those looks that meant she clearly didn’t believe her, “I’m sure you will. Go get your stuff for school, I don’t want you to be late for that either.”

“Oh, yeah. I wouldn’t want to make a bad impression on my first day.”

She spins around, retrieving her bookbag from her room then heading outside to Kevin’s car. Guess she wasn’t the only one who dressed down. Kevin was wearing a plain collared shirt and plain blue jeans.

“Are you excited?”

He snorts, reaching to adjust his rearview mirror, “I’m the new kid in town whose father is the new sheriff. Of course, I am.”

The engine roars loudly as he presses on the gas, Josie leaning back in her seat as the car starts moving, “What’s the name of the kid that was supposed to be showing us around?”

“Andrew, I think.”

“Hm. He has a dick name, I hope he’s not a dick.”

::

They sit in the office while they wait for the guide to show up, Josie checks her social media pages to distract herself. She feels a slight pang of hurt when she sees a picture of Alexandra in her cheer uniform. Their first practice was supposed to be today.

At least, she remembered to make Alexandra captain before she left. God forbid, the coach picked who’d lead the squad next.

Kevin is about to suggest they just try to find their way around the school on their own when a boy with orangish hair peeks inside, smiling widely when he sees them.

“Sorry, I’m late. You’re Kevin and Josephine, right?”

“Josie,” she corrects him, pushing off the chair and to her feet.

“Right. Well, I’m Archie Andrews, your tour guide. Come on.”

The two share a look before following the Archie out of the office. Kevin wasn’t sure what he expected the school to look like, but this wasn’t it. Josie holds out her arm, preventing him from bumping into Archie as he stops to talk to a girl with dark hair. 

“This is my friend, Veronica,” he introduces her. “This is Josie and Kevin.”

“Your dad is the new sheriff, right?”

“He’s not my dad,” Josie responds without missing a beat.

“He’s mine,” Kevin replies, waving awkwardly. He was hoping to avoid that topic of conversation. “So, what do you guys do for fun here?”

“Friday night football games, tailgate parties at the Mallmart parking lot, Saturday night is movie regardless of what’s playing at the Bijou. On Sunday nights, thank god for HBO. And of course, the Back-to-School semiformal is this weekend. Did Weatherbee give you your schedules?”

Josie nods, retrieving the folded piece of paper from her pocket and handing it over. Veronica skims over it, humming quietly to herself.

“Looks like we have all the same classes,” Veronica informs her as she hands it back. “Come on, I’ll show you where they are.”

Josie shrugs, hooking her arm through Veronica’s as they walk away. 

“Are you two…” Kevin gestures between Veronica and Archie.

“N-No. We’re just close friends.”

::

Josie doesn’t see Kevin again until lunch, Veronica leading her over to the table they’re seating at. There’s another boy there, wearing a grey hat. She can hear music playing the closer she gets.

She takes the spot next to Kevin, nodding at the laptop, “Who’s that?”

“It’s Archie, I thought I’d have to pretend to like it, but it’s actually really good.”

“Was that something you write?” Josie asks, facing him.

“Uh, yeah. It’s rough.”

“It’s good,” she compliments him.

“I keep telling him he should perform in the talent show but he never listens to me,” Veronica says, pointedly staring at her friend.

“I’m not ready for that yet, Ronnie. Anyway, I have to go before I’m late for football tryouts.” He grabs his bag and quickly walks away.

“The Ice Queen approaches,” the boy with the beanie mumbles and she’s about to ask what he means by that when a girl with fiery red hair stops in front of the table.

“I’ve heard whisperings. I’m Cheryl Blossom, may I sit?” she doesn’t wait for an answer, taking the spot where Archie was just sitting at. “What were you three hens gossiping about?”

“Um, extracurriculars,” Josie answers when it seems like no else was going to. “Weatherbee wants us to sign up for a few.”

“Cheerleading, you must. I’m captain of the River Vixens.”

“Cheerleading isn’t really my thing.”

“Liar,” Kevin tries to hide behind a fake cough, glaring at Josie when she elbows him. 

“Tryouts are after school in the gym if you change your mind. Follow me on Twitter and I’ll do the same. My handle is @cherylbombshell.”

Josie nods, watching Cheryl strut away. She can’t help but notice that Veronica has been quiet since the redhead sat down.

::

The weekend rolls around sooner than they expected. Josie and Kevin enter the gym together, looking around the decorated room. Balloons and tulle paper hung from the ceiling, soft music played through the speakers by the stage.

“It looks like you have a fan,” Josie whispers to Kevin, nodding her head in Moose’s direction as she catches him staring.

“You’re late. I caught him checking me out during Biology.”

“Lucky you. I’m going to get a drink.”

“I’m coming with you,” Kevin replies, refusing to leave her side. An open punch bowl at a high school dance was definitely spiked and Sierra had asked him to keep an eye on Josie before they left.

Josie stops walking and turns around to face him. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”

“Josie, you have a drinking problem.”

“No, right now, I have a ‘you’ problem.”

“There you are,” Veronica cuts in, smile faltering when she senses the tense atmosphere. “Everything okay?”

“Everything is fine,” Josie replies, forcing a smile. “Kevin is just being overprotective. Want to dance?”

“Sure.”

Josie throws Kevin one more glance before taking Veronica’s hand and leading her away.

::

“Scared of the water?” Archie teases. A handful of the students had left the dance early to party at Sweetwater River.

Kevin shakes his head, “I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on Josie.”

“You two are really close, huh?”

Kevin shrugs. It was purely a circumstantial thing. They may have shared friends, but he wouldn’t go so far as to say he and Josie were friends. If not for their parents’ infidelity, he doubt they’d even speak to each other besides to say hello. 

Various screams capture their attention, the two boys looking to see everyone running out of the water. 

“Stay here,” Archie commands as he goes to investigate. He never expected to see Jason Blossom’s body floating in the water, a role in his head. “Someone call the police,” he shouts at the top of his lungs.


	2. A Touch of Evil

“Bye, mom. I love you too.” Archie quickly ends the phone call when he sees his dad approaching. 

“Arch, you can talk to your mom when I’m around. I’m okay.”

Archie nods, though he can sense that his father is lying. The separation was hard on all of them.

“I’m going to head out for school before I’m late. See you later, dad.”

::

“I wasn’t drinking. How many times do I have to say that?”

“You shouldn’t have been at that party in the first place,” her mother replies sternly. “My specific directions were to go to the dance and come straight back home.”

“I just spent three months in the most depressing place on earth. Excuse me for wanting a little fun.” Josie isn’t even sure why she bothers arguing, her mom was just going to keep expecting the worse from her. 

“I have heard that excuse before, Josephine.”

Josie doesn’t bother responding this time. She puts the carton on milk back in the fridge and grabs the bowl of milk for her cat off the counter and carries it to her room where Jinx was waiting for her.

::

_“Most of you already know the details, but your classmate Jason Blossom’s body was found late Saturday night. So as of this weekend, Jason’s death is now being treated as a homicide. It is an open and ongoing investigation.”_

Kevin makes a face as he hears his dad’s voice through the intercoms. His dad being sheriff was still something he was getting used to.

_“And may I interject,”_ Cheryl interrupts, _“neither I nor my parents will rest until Jason’s death is avenged, and his cold-hearted killer is walking the green mile to sit in Old Sparky and fry. I, for one, have my suspicions. Hashtag Riverdale Strong.”_

Josie turns to him with a raised brow, “Hashtag Riverdale Strong? You’d think after literally stumbling upon a dead body, they’d cancel the pep rally.”

“Welcome to Riverdale,” Jughead replies as he falls into step with them. “The town with pep.”

They enter the lounge just in time to hear Reggie Mantle complaining about being interrogated. Kevin takes the seat next to Betty while Josie makes herself comfortable on the arm of the chair Veronica is sitting in, Jughead goes to vending machine to get himself a snack.

“And he’s grilling me, Mantle the Magnificent. Cause I’d want Blossom dead. When he was, like, the only good quarterback we had. I mean, let’s think about it. If a kid at Riverdale killed Jason, it’s not gonna be a jock, right? Isn’t it always some scrawny, pathetic, internet troll, too busy writing his manifesto to get laid?” He turns to Jughead, smirking, “Some smug, moody, serial killer fanboy freak, like Jughead?” Reggie breaks off with a laugh. “What was it like, Suicide Squad? When you shot Jason? You didn’t do stuff to the body, did you? Like after?”

Jughead leans against the wall next to the vending machine, arms crossed over his chest, “It’s called necrophilia, Reggie. Can you spell it?”

He rises from his seat, stalking towards the lanky boy angrily only to be pushed back by Archie.

“Shut the hell up, Reggie.”

“What do you care, Andrews?”

“Nothing, just leave him alone.”

“Holy crap. Did you and Donnie Darko kill him together?” Reggie glances between the two of them, “Was it some pervy, blood brother thing?”

Archie shoves Reggie back again, more forcefully this time. Reggie retaliates by pushing Archie into the vending machine, the glass shattering. Kevin winces, watching as the fight ensues.

::

“Seats, everyone,” the teacher instructs them. “Pair off. Gloves on, scalpels up.”

Josie slides in the chair besides Cheryl before anyone else can. Even though they haven’t spoken besides that one time and barely knew each other, she wanted to make sure she was okay.

“Cheryl, I just want to say, I’m really sorry about Jason. If I can do anything to help—”

“That’s sweet, Josie, but unless you were at Sweetwater River and know who shot Jason, I doubt there’s anything you can do to help.”

“Do you know if the police have any leads?”

“No, you ghoul. But it’s only a matter of time. And my twintuition is telling me it’s someone we all know.”

::

Kevin peeks inside the room through the small rectangular window pane. He was elated when Weatherbee told him they had a drama club. Several people stood in a circle, holding hands and doing, what looked to be, breathing exercises.

Maybe he should’ve went with his first mind and sent an application to the Blue & Gold. He starts to back away and bumps into a shorter with woman with thin rimmed glass; her name starts with G or something he believes. 

“Sorry,” he mumbles, reaching out to steady her.

She waves him off, adjusting her glasses, “Oh, it’s fine. Were you thinking of joining drama club?”

“Uh, yeah. I was actually.”

“Well, come in. We’re doing our warmups.”

Kevin debates leaving but remembers what his father said about trying to fit in since they’re living here permanently now. The least he could do was try.

::

Kevin drifts away his parents and Josie, bumping into Archie who’s jogging to join the other Bulldogs.

He gasps quietly when he sees Archie’s eye. Archie flinches away when Kevin reaches out to touch it and the auburn haired boy reins his hand back, swallowing deeply.

Archie stares at him for a long while, eyes conveying a message that Kevin can’t decipher. 

Coach Clayton blows his whistle, beckoning his players over.

“I gotta go,” Archie jabs his thumb in his coach’s direction.

Kevin nods, clearing his throat before responding, “Right. I’ll, um, see you after.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

::

Josie cups her hands around her mouth, shouting Archie’s name as he tears through the yellow paper, the other football players running behind him.

“Nice to know someone is feeling the school spirit,” Veronica remarks wryly.

Josie shrugs, “My boyfriend was captain of the basketball team at my old school. I’m kinda used to cheering on the sideline.”

“So, you have a boyfriend?”

Josie takes a moment to think it over. Her and Alexander barely talked before she went to rehab then moved away and she had no idea where they stood. Her attention goes elsewhere as she sees a blur of red dart pass, Cheryl taking off towards the locker room.

Everyone stands still, watching her in a mixture of shock and confusion. 

Josie isn’t sure what compels her to do it, but she leaves the bleachers and goes after her. Cheryl is sitting on a bench between the second and third row of lockers, hunched over and crying.

“Cheryl?” Josie walks closer to her until she’s right behind her then sits down and places her hand on Cheryl’s shoulder, “Cheryl, what happened?”

“Jason. He’s gone.”

“I know.”

“You don’t understand. I’m alone.”

“You’re not alone.”

Cheryl turns abruptly, wraps her arms around Josie. Josie hesitates before returning the embrace, running her hand up and down the girl’s back. She doesn’t notice the other person in the room watching them.

::

Veronica stands outside the locker room, waiting for Josie to come out. Cheryl had left a couple of minutes ago, whisked away by Penelope and Clifford.

“Hey,” Josie smiles at her when she sees her. “Sorry about leaving like that.”

“It’s fine. Not many people would’ve done what you did.”

Josie sighs softly as the two begin walking towards Kevin’s car at a slow pace, “I’ve had my fair share of emotional breakdowns.”

Veronica doesn’t ask what she means by that, not wanting to press, “If you’re not doing anything, I was thinking we could grab at milkshake at Pop’s.”

“I’d love that.”

Veronica reaches for Josie’s hand and gives it a quick squeeze. They were going to be good friends, she can feel it.


	3. The Last Picture Show

Kevin stretches his arm, jabbing at different spots on his phone to turn the alarm off. Every day was the same.

Wake up, eat, brush his teeth, go to school, go to drama club rehearsal, go home, rinse and repeat. Riverdale was quite literally the most boring place on earth.

::

Josie slams the drawer shut in frustration, “Is there no tape in this house?”

“Here,” Kevin places a small roll on the counter in front of her.

“It’s just a cat, Josie. We can get you another one.”

“I don’t want another cat, Mom. I want Jinx. Not everything is easily replaceable, you know?”

Her mother stiffens, narrowing her eyes in the way she always does with get into one of those ‘not’ arguments. Someone knocks at the door, the conversation ending as Josie rushes to answer it, expecting to see Veronica on the other side. The raven-haired girl had offered to help search for her missing cat.

“Ugh,” she rolls her eyes when she sees it’s Archie. “It’s for you, Kevin,” she yells over her shoulder as she walks her back to her room.

Archie hesitantly enters the household, pointing his thumb in Josie’s direction as Kevin approaches, “Did I do something wrong?”

Kevin shakes his head, “Her cat is missing and she’s on edge.”

“Oh, okay.” Archie nods.

“Where are we going again?”

“The drive-in. I told Jughead we’d help him set up for tonight.”

“Wow. Sounds so fun,” Kevin sarcastically retorts.

::

Veronica throws Josie a quick curious glance over her shoulder, “I know I can be a bit much, but this seems excessive.”

Josie sighs, playing with her bracelet as they walk towards Pop, “Jinx just means a lot to me, okay?”

“Long story?”

Josie nods, “A very long story.”

“I’ve got time,” Veronica stops in the middle of the sidewalk. Arms crossed over her chest as she turns to face Josie. 

Josie decides to take a leap of faith, taking off her bracelet and holding it up for her friend to see, “It’s a sobriety bracelet,” she explains. “When I woke up in the hospital, the first thing I saw was this tiny black cat staring back at me. I used to joke with my therapist that she gave me one of her nine lives. The rehab I was staying at allowed pets, so I took her with me. Things were a little less lonely with Jinx there.”

“We’re going to find her, I promise.” Veronica sounds way more determined than she feels. “In the meantime, maybe I can help you feel a little less alone.”

“Okay.”

::

“This is a disaster!” Jughead exclaims dramatically.

“Jug, we can just go to the theater in Greendale,” Archie tries to cheer his friend up.

“It’s not the Drive-in, Arch. Another great monument lost to capitalism. The Twilight Drive-in should mean something to us, people should be trying to save it. I have to do something.”

Kevin eyes dart between the two, listening to them go back and forth. He was confused as to what was going on to say the least. A nice reminder that he was still the new kid around and knew virtually nothing. 

“What are you going to do?” Archie asks cautiously. 

“Talk to Mayor Cooper. Maybe there’s a chance I can convince her to not take the deal.”

Archie snorts, hell freezing over was more likely than Mrs. Cooper agreeing to that. For reasons unknown, she never much cared for Jughead.

“I know my chances are slim so I’m going to Betty first.”

“Jug—”

“I have to try, Archie.” He takes a deep breath, softening his voice, “Okay?”

“Okay.”

::

Josie takes her usual spot beside Veronica as they sit down at the lunch table, Jughead stops mid-rant to steal a nugget from her plate.

“As I was saying,” he continues, “Mayor Cooper basically told me it was a no-go. The town didn’t invest in it so when an anonymous buyer made offer, she couldn’t refuse.”

“Anonymous buyer?” Veronica snorts. “What do they have to hide?”

“It doesn’t matter now; the deal is done. Also, you guys should come to the closing night. I’m thinking American Graffiti or is that too obvious?”

Veronica shrugs, “I vote for anything with Audrey Hepburn.”

Josie tunes them out, watching Cheryl as she passes their table to the one with her friends. Their brief interaction at the Pep Rally had been plaguing Josie’s mind since it happened. 

“Everything okay, Josie?”

She blinks, the sound of her name being said bringing back to the conversation, “How about The New Kids?”

Josie shares a look with Kevin, the two laughing over her joke.

::

Drama club doesn’t meet for rehearsals on Fridays, so Josie and Kevin go home together. She’s in the middle of scrolling through her Twitter when someone knocks on the front door.

She sets her phone to the side and goes to open the door, looking through the peephole first to see who was there. It turns out to be Chuck, one of Kevin’s drama club friends. She’s about to shout for Kevin to come here when she remembers that he’s in the shower. Just her luck.

Josie opens the door, a forced casual smile on her face, “Kevin is in the shower, but you can come in and wait if you want.”

“I actually came here for you.”

“Uh, okay.”

It’s only then that she notices the small cage near his feet, a small paw beating on the barred door. 

“Jinx!”

“My little sister found her at the park. I saw the pictures and thought I’d bring her back to you.”

Josie bends down, opening the cage door then picking her cat up. She was beyond relieved to have Jinx back. 

“Thank you so much.”

“No problem. I’ll, uh, go now.”

“Okay. I’ll see you at school, Chuck.”

He starts to turn around then stops, “Are you going to the movies tomorrow?”

Josie can see where this is going and she’s about to decline, thinking of the necklace hanging around her neck. But she doubted she’d see Alexander again for a long time. Maybe it was time for her to start moving on.

“You can pick me up at 8.”

::

“I was thinking we could all watch the movie together. My dad said he’d let us borrow the truck.”

Josie shakes her head, declining the very tempting offer, “I’m already going with someone, sorry.”

Veronica frowns almost instantly, “With who?”

“Chuck Clayton.”

Kevin slides his empty milkshake glass away from him, leaning back in his seat, “You’re going on a date with Chuck?”

“A date with Chuck Clayton? Aren’t you a lucky girl?” Cheryl comments with snark, having overheard the conversation from the booth behind them. 

Josie pushes aside the brief interruption, confused at everyone’s reactions, “Why do you sound so surprised? It’s just one date.”

“Come on, Josie. He’s not your usual type.”

“Isn’t the point of us being here to turn over a new leaf, Kevin? Besides, I don’t even know what my type is.” 

This was her chance to explore her options more.

::

Josie tries to hide her disappoint when Tom answers the door instead of her mother.

“Your mom stepped out,” he tells her before she can ask.

“Right. Well, Mr. Keller, a couple of my friends were going to the movies tonight and I need money.”

“Here,” he reaches inside his pocket for his wallet and gives her a crisp twenty dollar bill, “and you can call me Tom.”

That was absolutely never going to happen but it was nice that he thought he could buy her affection.

“Thanks, Kevin’s dad.”

::

The movie is…boring to say the least. Kevin wasn’t going to judge anyone taste in cinema unless they were Tarantino fans. The group of people near the back making a bunch of noise didn’t help the situation.

Veronica grows tired of listening to them. She stands up in the bed of the truck and faces them, “You know what happens to a snake when a Louis Vuitton heel steps on it? Shut the hell up or you’ll find out.”

Kevin watches her as she sits back down, mumbling something about Southside Serpents.

“What the hell is a Southside Serpent?”

“A gang from the other side of town,” Veronica explains with a sigh. “They usually stick to their side except for tonight, apparently. I hate when people disrespect my cinematic experience.”

“Riiight. I’m going to grab some snacks. Want anything?”

“No, I’m good.”

“I can come with you,” Archie suggest, already half way out of his seat.

“I got it,” Kevin replies. He jumps out of the truck and heads to the concession stand, disappointed to find the guy behind it gone. 

Kevin spins on heel, about to head back to Veronica when some guy he’s never seen before blocks his path.

“Not so tough without your beard, are you?”

Kevin repeatedly blinks, failing to come up with a quick response. He’d usually try to avoid awkward situations like this.

::

Josie tilts her head to the side, a teasing smile on her face, “Comic books, huh? So, you’re like a really great artist?”

“I’m...okay,” Chuck responds modestly.

“You’d have to show me sometime. Maybe you can draw something for me.”

He grins, placing his hand on the window near her head. An obvious move if she’d ever seen one.

“That can be arranged.”

“Room for moi?” Cheryl asks, though she’s already moving onto the truck, sitting down right between them. Josie supposes she should just get used to this, having Cheryl Blossom around.

::

Archie goes to look for Kevin after he doesn’t return for a while, worried that something happened to him. The sound of shouting captures his attention and he follows it, surprised to find Veronica’s mom and Alice Cooper in a heated argument.

As far as he knew, they weren’t even friends. Not even close.

He ducks out of height before he can be caught snooping and jogs back to the truck where Veronica still is. He wonders if he should tell her about it or not. 

“Everything okay, Archie?”

“Yeah, everything is fine.”

What was there to tell anyway?

::

Kevin breaks the kiss, inhaling a quick breath of air.

“I’m Joaquin by the way,” the handsome guy with jet black hair informs him. He probably should’ve asked for his name before making out with him.

“Give me your phone.” Joaquin hands it to him without hesitation. “This is my number. Use it.”

“K-Kevin Keller,” he stutters. “As in Sheriff Keller?”

“Is that a problem?”

“Is this a problem?” Joaquin pushes up his sleeve, showing Kevin his Serpent tattoo.

Kevin shrugs, he just got here, and he wasn’t about to end a possible romance because of some turf war that he didn’t even know about till now. He just had to make sure his dad never found out.

“I won’t tell if you won’t.”

::

Kevin tosses his keys on his covers. Josie follows him inside and lays across his bed, “Fun night, huh?”

He nods, “It was okay.”

“I didn’t see you with Veronica. Where’d you go?”

“Um, bathroom break,” Kevin lies. He fakes a yawn then turns to her, “I’m kinda tired so I’ll going to go to sleep.”

Josie shrugs, moving out of his bed, “I’m going to Veronica’s house. Tell my mom for me.”


	4. Heart of Darkness

“Hey, Rocky.”

Archie stops hitting the punching bag, holding it still as he turns to see his dad standing in the doorway, “Hey.”

His father rubs at his forehead, “You know I never thought I’d say that I miss you playing guitar.”

“Sorry, Dad. Just trying to get back in fighting shape for the field.”

His dad nods, stepping further into the room, “So, this is all for football?”

“Coach Clayton’s about to set the starting line-up, name a new captain. It’s like you said. Football gets me a scholarship, which gets me to college where I can study music. Captains get scholarships.”

He was going to have work hard to earn that captain spot.

::

Kevin settles on the bleachers where they were eating lunch today apparently. “What’s on the agenda for this week?”

“I’m busy with tryouts,” Archie informs them, “The captain spot is open, and Coach Clayton says I have a shot at it. So, I’m not thinking about anything else right now.”

“I heard from Chuck that Reggie was trying out. You might have to step up your game from what I’ve seen, no offense. Anyway, I thought you were all about music.”

Jughead speaks up for the first time since they’ve sat down, “Wow, Josie, tell him how you really feel. I’m surprised you and Chuck are still on speaking terms.”

She shrugs, not bothering to reply to his statement. Though the date didn’t go well, Josie could use more black friends and Chuck was a nice guy.

Archie laughs, trying not to take her words personally. He wasn’t _that_ worried about Reggie, “I’m trying to balance everything.”

“Valerie and Melody are holding band auditions today. I think I might try out,” Veronica tells them nonchalantly. She wasn’t sure yet.

“You should try out too, Josie,” Kevin suggests.

Josie shakes her head, “I don’t think so.”

Archie turns to her, obviously surprised, “You can sing?”

“A little.”

“A lot,” Kevin corrects her. 

“It’s true,” Veronica adds. “I’ve heard you sing before. You should totally try out.”

Josie is grateful for Cheryl walking over at that moment, giving them something to talk about besides her.

“Sorry to interrupt, Sad Breakfast Club, but I’m here to formally invite you to Jason’s memorial at Thornhill this weekend. To my surprise and chagrin, mother added you to the guest list,” she retrieves the invitation from her purse and hands it to Veronica who’s closest to her. “In case you’re tempted to steal our silver candlesticks, don’t. We’ll be searching bags.”

Veronica rolls her eyes, sliding the envelope into her bag. Against her better judgement, she follows Cheryl as she walks away. 

“Cheryl, wait.”

She stops then turns around, an exaggerated expression of irritation on her face, “Yes?”

“You’re in pain. This is a horrible week for you. I’m sure it’s why you’re being particularly obnoxious.”

“Maybe.”

“Look, I don’t want to be locked in a catfight to the death with you. Can we call a truce?”

“If you really want to extend an olive branch, come to a sleepover I’m having.”

“Fine. Sure,” Veronica agrees without hesitation. “When?”

“The night before the memorial. I don’t want to spend the night before I bury my brother alone.”

::

Archie cries out in pain as Reggie grabs his wrist to help him up. He’s hoping his teammate didn’t notice but judging by the look of concern on his face, he definitely did. 

“What’s wrong with your hand?”

“Nothing. It’s fine.”

Reggie shakes his head, obviously not believing Archie’s lie, “You’re not playing with a busted hand.”

“I said it’s fine, Reg.”

“Archie, sit this one out,” Reggie advises. “You’ll thank me later.”

Archie steps closer to him, features contorted in anger, “Are you really that scared of me?”

“Fellas, are we going to chit-chat or are we going to play?” Coach Clayton shouts at them.

Archie puts his helmet back on, giving Reggie one last hard look as he turns and rejoins the other players. 

After practice, he heads to the nurse to get his wrist wrapped up. Fortunately, it wasn’t damaged too bad. Kevin stands in the doorway, waiting for him to finish up.

“Rough practice, huh?”

Archie smiles sheepishly, “I got slammed because I didn’t know the plays. I didn’t know the plays because, like an idiot, instead of memorizing my plays I was up late last night working on new songs. God, I’m not such an idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot, Archie. You’re just trying to juggle two things at once, don’t beat yourself up about it.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, I don’t have any plans for the rest of the day. I can help you learn your plays and maybe with the song writing. Deal?”

Archie nods, smile growing bigger, “Deal.”

::

Veronica is grateful for when dinner ends and it’s just her and Cheryl in her bedroom. It reminds her of their sleepovers with Betty.

Cheryl sighs, flipping through the photobook filled with pictures of Jason, “Everything with Jason’s been so public. Everyone has an opinion—has been gossiping. Saying he got what he deserved or didn’t. I just want everyone to know that I’m sorry and that Jason deserved a better family than he got.”

“Then do it. I’ll help you,” Veronica says with a slight smile. “Let Penelope and Clifford Blossom do their worst.”

“Oh, they will,” Cheryl replies gravelly. “They’ll kill me.”

“I’m here for you, Cheryl. No matter what.”

::

“I hope I’m not late.”

Valerie and Melody look up, the latter with a hint of smile on her face as if she was hoping Josie would show up. 

Josie wasn’t going to at first but the idea of not doing anything for the remainder of high school was not appealing in the slightest. She didn’t have to give up all the things she enjoyed. 

“We got time for one more,” Valerie replies, handing her the lyric sheet.

Josie nods, skimming the lyrics again. a part of her wants to run out the room, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering uncontrollably. She closes her eyes, exhales, and sings.

_We get lost_   
_And we get found_   
_Now we are here_   
_We won’t back down_   
_Write this in the sky_   
_We fear nothing_

“That’s enough,” Valerie interrupts.

Josie opens her eyes to see the two beaming at her and her nervousness dissipates.

She exits the music room with a pair of cat eared headband adoring her head. She starts towards the parking lot, a bounce in her step that wasn’t there before.

::

Archie stands side by side with Reggie, both of them waiting patiently for Coach Clayton to tell them who’d be captain.

“I saw a lot of fire and hustle from the both of you this week. It was almost too close to call. Reggie, your time will come. But, for this season, this is a new jersey, seeing that you took it upon yourself to retire Jason’s which was the right call. You know what captain should and would do.”

Clayton holds the jersey up for him to take but Archie remains still. He is the thing he’s worked so hard for over the past week and he realizes he doesn’t want it—not the same way Reggie does.

“I can’t.”

“Dude, are you insane? Take the jersey.”

Archie ignores Reggie, looking to the older man “I can’t, Coach. I love playing football, but your starting line-up deserves a captain whose only love is football. Someone like Reggie.”

“What?” Reggie gives him a confused look before grinning and agreeing, “I mean, yeah.”

“You’re quitting on me, Andrews?”

“No, and I really hope you don’t cut me, Coach. Cause I freaking love being a Bulldog. But that part of me that I would have to give to you if I were captain, I gotta save that for something else.”

Coach Clayton nods. He doesn’t look pleased, but he can’t force it on Archie.

“Congratulations, Mantle.”

::

Josie takes the seat between her mother and Kevin, smoothing out the wrinkles in her black dress. 

Kevin’s knee bounces up and down distractedly. Funerals always made him nervous. 

The room falls to a hush and the pair turn to see Cheryl dressed in white, walking down the aisle.

“Oh my god.”

“Yes,” Kevin replies, receiving a look of disbelief from Josie, Sierra, and his father.

Veronica places her hand on Penelope’s shoulder as she starts to rise from her seat, “You are only going to make things worse.”

Cheryl stands behind the podium, tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to fall any second. 

“The last time I saw Jason, I was wearing this dress. I know it’s impossible, but I swear when I put it on, it feels like he’s in the room with me. Even though we were twins, I used to demand I have my own birthday party. Until one year, out of the blue, Jason convinced me we had to combine them into one. It wasn’t until years later, I found out why. It was because no one wanted to come to mine and Jason didn’t want me to know. He protected me. Every single day. I wish, that day at the river, I had protected him.” She stops, no longer able to hold the dam behind her eyes back, collapsing on the casket with a choked sob.

Veronica rises from her seat and walks over to Cheryl, hugging the crying girl.

::

Josie’s finger hovers over her father’s name. The funeral got her thinking and she figured it was about time she called her him. The last time they talked was when her parents told her they were getting a divorce. She didn’t want that to be their last conversation.

Josie presses the call button, playing with a loose thread on her shirt.

It rings two times before he answers with a dull hello.

“Hi, dad.”

::

“Veronica,” Hermione calls out to her daughter before she disappears inside her room like she usually does. “Come here.”

Veronica nods, joining her mother on the sofa, “Yes?”

Hermione tries to figure out the best way to phrase her question, “Did the Blossoms say anything about your father?”

“Anything like what?”

“Mija, the Blossoms are not our friends.”

“Cheryl isn’t like them.”

“I want you to keep your distance. Okay?”

“Okay,” Veronica agrees, though she has no idea what she’s agreeing to.


	5. The Last Picture Show

Archie adjusts the microphone, so it was closer to his mouth. Auditions for the Variety Show were being held in the auditorium and he was more nervous than he’d ever been. Reggie and a couple of other bulldogs shouting at him didn’t help either.

“And what will you be auditioning with?” Grundy asks from her spot at the table. The Pussycats, unlike him, didn’t have to audition since their talent went without question. 

“Uh, an original song that I wrote called I’ll try,” Archie stutters out. 

“Take your time, Archie,” Grundy advises him with an encouraging smile. 

“Try harder!” Archie hears someone yell, followed by, “Maybe try not sucking so much.”

He sighs, wiping his clammy hands on his jeans.

“Oh, god,” Kevin mumbles. “He’s choking.”

Jughead pulls his beanie down over his face and slouches down in his seat. If he couldn’t see it, then it wasn’t happening. 

“Sorry, I gotta go.” Archie slides off the stool and exits stage left, trying to block out the hoots and hollers from the jocks.

::

Veronica is about to knock on her mother’s door to let her know she was about to go when it opens, revealing her mother in a tight fitted black dress. A date night dress.

“Mija, I thought you were spending the night at Josie’s house.”

“…I was. Are you going somewhere?”

Before Hermione can reply, there’s a knock at their suite door. Veronica spins on her heel, ignoring her mother’s calling of her name as she rushes to see who was on the other side. Her mouth drops open when she does, giving the older man a quick once over.

“Mr. Andrews?”

He clears his throat awkwardly, “Hi, Veronica.”

This could not be happening.

::

“Then, I was like we should totally do a Donna Summers song. I mean, imagine how great we’ll sound,” Josie pauses, noticing the faraway look in Veronica’s eyes, “everything okay, Ronnie?”

“Yeah,” Veronica lies, trying to force a smile. “I’m fine.”

“Come on. You listened to my sob story so it’s my turn to listen to yours. What’s going on?”

“How did you feel when her mom started dating Kevin’s dad?”

Josie shrugs, “I think my overdose kinda answers that question. Why?”

“My mom is on a date with Archie’s dad.”

“Woah.”

“I know.”

“Are you going to tell your dad?”

Veronica shrugs, wrapping her arms around herself, “The only thing that keeps me going is knowing that when my dad gets out, we’ll all be back together again—just like we used to. If I tell him then that all just goes away.”

“And if you don’t?”

“Then, I’m keeping a secret that might break his heart.”

Josie tries to think of what she’d do differently after finding out about the affair.

“I think you should talk to your mom. Get her side of the story before you write her off completely.”

::

Veronica doesn’t talk to her mom, instead she goes to Archie the next day at school. He’s in the lounge, laughing about something with Valerie, Jughead, and Kevin. The three were trying to cheer him up over his, admittedly horrible, audition.

“Hey, Ronnie.” He greets her a warm smile that she can’t find it in herself to reciprocate.

“Hi, Archie. Can we talk?”

“Sure.” He pushes himself off the couch and follows her out the lounge and down the hall to an empty classroom, Veronica shutting the door behind them.

She faces him, arms crossed over her chest and a slight arch to her brows, “Did you know?”

“Know what?”

“About your dad and my mom, Archie. Did you know?”

“I—yeah. My dad talked to me about it.”

“You couldn’t have given me a heads up.”

“I didn’t think it was a big deal, Ron.”

“They’re married to other people.”

“Hey, my parents are separated, and your dad is…” Archie trails off when he sees the flash of hurt in her eyes.

“My dad is what, Archie?”

“He’s incarcerated.”

“That is so not the point, you Ginger Judas!”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I can talk to my dad and—”

“Oh, don’t do me any favors, Archie.”

She turns around and storms out of the room, leaving behind a dispirited Archie.

::

Her mother isn’t too happy to hear that she’s been in contact with Myles, but Josie doesn’t pay it much mind. It’s not like she was the one that divorced him, there was nothing wrong with her trying to keep a relationship.

“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, honey.”

“Why not? He probably still thinks I spent the summer watching Monse for Uncle Monty.”

“Can’t you reschedule? I was hoping we could have dinner tonight as a family,” her mother tries again.

Josie holds back a laugh, “I like Kevin and I get that you and his dad are in love, but we are _not_ a family.”

::

“Are those divorce papers?”

Her mom jumps, placing a pillow over the papers to hide them, “How long were you standing there?”

Veronica ignores the question, moving around the couch and sitting down next to her mom. “Are you gonna leave Dad once he gets out of jail?”

“Mija, I know this may be confusing, but Fred and I—it just happened. I’m not sure what’s going to happen when your father is released,” her mother reaches for her hand, “what can I do to help—”

“You can stop seeing Mr. Andrews.”

Her mother sighs, pulling her hand away, “I’m sorry, Ronnie. I can’t do that.”

“You know what, mom? There’s actually nothing you can do to help,” she rises to her feet, not caring to finish this conversation. 

“Mija—”

“However, you’re rationalizing what you’re doing with Archie’s dad, I don’t want any part of it.”

::

Kevin approaches Archie at his locker, lightly punching his arm, “Guess what I just did?”

“What?”

“I got you a spot on the show. I talked to Mrs. Grundy and she agreed to let you have Dilton’s spot.”

“Kev, you saw what happened earlier. There’s no way I can go through that again. Thanks, but I can’t.”

Archie gives him an apologetic look before shutting his locker and walking away. Well, that wasn’t the reaction Kevin was hoping for.

::

Josie places her fork back down and pushes her plate of spaghetti away. She had brought Myles to some fancy restaurant in Seadale, far enough away from the town for them to have some semblance of privacy.

“There is something that I wanted to talk you about.”

“What is it?”

“I wasn’t in South Central this summer. I was in Roseville at the Pathways Recovery Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center.”

She waits for the surprise or shock or any sort of reaction. Instead, her father just stares blankly at her which is odd unless…

_“You knew?”_

“Was I supposed to watch you go through the same thing I did?”

“You knew this whole time and you never once came to visit me?”

“The rehab center gave you the help you needed—”

“I needed my parents. Both of them. God.” She leans back in her seat, hands covering her face. She was such an idiot. All this time, she’s been blaming her the wrong person for everything. “No wonder mom divorced you.”

“Josie—”

“Go. Leave. I don’t _need_ anyone here who doesn’t want to be.”

He opens his mouth then shuts it and Josie is relieved she won’t have to hear whatever he was about to say. He throws a fifty-dollar bill on the table then gets up and walks away. She pulls out her phone, not bothering to watch him leave this time. Tears drip down her cheeks and onto her screen, making it difficult her to type.

She calls her Kevin, wiping at her face as she waits for him to pick up.

“Josie?”

“Can you come get me? Please.”

::

Archie checks his phone again for the fifth time. Fifteen minutes were left until the Variety Show. His dad knocks on the door, Archie craning his neck to look that way.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”

“I’m not performing.”

“Why not?”

Archie sits up and plants his feet on the ground, exhaling a quiet sigh, “Dad, what would happen if I tank at the Variety Show, would you—”

Fred walks further into the room, reaching out and placing a hand on Archie’s shoulder, “Son, whatever happens at that show or any show, whether you go up there and kill it or you bomb like electric Dylan at a folk concert—”

“I’m not sure who that is.”

“I would still love you, okay?” His dad finishes. “Support you. I’d be proud of that fact that you were brave enough to go after something that you care about.”

Archie nods, checking his phone again after his dad is gone. Twelve minutes. He should start getting ready if he was going to perform.

::

Josie twists the cap back on the bottle of mascara. She wasn’t sure if she was up for performing but she didn’t want to let her bandmates down by backing out.

She lifts her head up and sees Veronica standing behind her with a bouquet of flowers through the mirror.

“You didn’t have to.” 

“I know. I wanted to.”

Veronica takes the chair holding the door open and brings it next to Josie so she can sit down next to her, “How did dinner with your dad go?”

“Terrible. Turns out, my dad knew the whole time. It’s my fault for expecting him to care about something other than himself for once in his life.”

“Don’t blame yourself. If your dad can’t see how great you are, that’s his loss not yours.” 

Josie sighs, half heartedly and turning to Veronica. It would be so easy to just lean over and kiss her, Josie thinks to herself. Judging by the way the brunette’s gaze switching between looking into her eyes and looking at her lips, she’s thinking it too. 

But Josie doesn’t want to risk ruining the one friendship she has here. So, she clears her throat and turns to the mirror again, ignoring the flash of hurt in Veronica’s eyes as she tells her she’ll her later.

::

Veronica seeks Archie out before the Variety Show, feeling a bit guilty after their conversation earlier. What their parents were doing wasn’t his fault.

She finds him standing behind a curtain, watching The Pussycats perform.

“Okay, so this is my mea culpa moment. I was angry at my mom and I took it out on you.”

“It’s okay. I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”

Veronica nods, “Break a leg, Andrews.”

Kevin takes her place after a moment, latching onto Archie’s arm, “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“I’m right here, Kev.”

“You’re on in forty seconds. Still up for it?”

Archie shrugs, “The prospect of total humiliation in front of this entire town is terrifying.”

“Want some company? Do a duet?”

“No,” he answers after thinking it over, “I have to do this on my own, Kevin.”

“Well, if you freeze out there, Red,” Kevin fixes his crooked bowtie, “just focus on something that makes you feel safe.”

Archie walks to the stool in the middle of stage as his name is announced. He adjusts his guitar in his lap, glancing back to Kevin is standing, the boy flashing him a quick thumbs up. Archie nods, turning back to the crowd. 

His dad is in the front row, giving him an encouraging smile.

He could do this.

::

Josie cuts around her father with the scissors. If he didn’t want to be around, she’d make sure of it. First step was getting rid of all traces of him from this house starting with pictures.

She removes her fingers from the scissors as her hand starts to cramp up. She’d have to finish this later. 

“Josie, what are you doing?”

“Cleansing the house,” Josie replies.

Her mother sighs, walking to her and moving their photo album out of her reach, “You are not going to destroy every picture with your father in it.”

“Every picture with him in it is already destroyed. Why didn’t you t-tell me?” Her voice wavers on the last part, lips trembling.

“I didn’t know how. Honey, I know how much you care about your father. I didn’t want to take that away from you.”

“Why is nothing I do ever enough for him?”

Her mother shushes her, bringing her in for a hug and rubbing her back comfortingly. It was exactly what Josie needed.

::

Archie stands outside the garage, watching his father drills something into the garage.

“Dad?”

“Hey, Arch. Aren’t you supposed to be at practice?” He was hoping to show Archie later as a surprise.

“Coach Clayton let us go early. What are you doing?”

“I am soundproofing the garage,” Fred explains, climbing down the ladder. “I figured you should have somewhere to practice your music.”

“Dad, this is awesome. Thank you.”

He walks over to his dad, enveloping him a tight hug. This was better than anything he could have imagined.


	6. Faster, Pussycat! Kill, Kill!

Jughead ducks down, spitting a wad of toothpaste into the sink. When he comes back up, Archie is staring at him through the mirror. Jughead should’ve known that someone would eventually find out about him staying here sooner or later. 

Archie waits until his friend is dressed before he starts pressing for answers.

Jughead grabs his beanie and slides it on, arms crossed as he faces his best friend, “Ask away, Archibald.”

“How long?”

“Well, since they shut down the drive-in. That’s where I was living before.”

Archie makes a face, confused and shocked by his friend’s revelation, “Why the hell are you not living at home?”

Jughead shrugs, putting on a composed act, “Things aren’t good at home.”

“With your dad?”

He swallows deeply then nods, “Yeah. With my dad. He kinda fell off the wagon again after your dad fired him to tell you the truth, hasn’t had a job since.”

“What about your mom?”

Jughead can’t help the bitter laugh that escapes him, “She couldn’t put up with him anymore—took Jellybean and left.”

The bell rings and he hears the sound of students pouring into the hallways.

“Come on,” Jughead nods his head in the direction of the door as he picks his backpack off the floor.

“God, Jug, why didn’t you tell me? And where does your dad think you are?”

“He thinks I’m couch surfing.”

“Screw that. You can stay with me.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m going to figure something out. Can you just not tell anyone about this? Especially not your dad.”

“Jug, you know he’s not going to care.”

“Arch, I’m only asking for just this one thing.”

“Fine,” Archie concedes. “Okay. I won’t tell anyone.”

::

“What’s all this?” Hermione glances from the multiple bags and boxes in Smither’s hand to her daughter’s smug face.

“Some retail therapy to salve my emotional wounds, a few treasures from Glamazon.com. Smithers, be a love and put those in my room.”

The older man offers her a nod before heading off in that direction, relieved to be away from the argument that was about to occur.

“Veronica, the nest egg that your father left us barely covers the rent of this apartment. We can’t leave beyond our means.”

“Are you sure, Mother?” Veronica cocks her head to the side, “Not even with the cushy job your new boyfriend has?”

Her mother doesn’t reply, and Veronica takes that as the end of the conversation.

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to go get dressed for school.”

::

Times like this are when Josie misses drugs the most. Whenever she was feeling sad, or bored, or just for the hell of it sometimes, she’d hit up one of her dealers. Now, she was stuck with all these feelings that she didn’t want to feel and no one to talk to. 

Kevin and her mom wouldn’t understand, she wasn’t planning on speaking to her dad ever again, and she had been avoiding Veronica for the past two days. 

“I thought you’d be happy after winning the Variety Show,” Kevin says as they walk into school that morning.

Josie shrugs, taking off her bookbag and placing it in her locker, “We can’t all be as chipper as you, Kevin.”

Her attention goes elsewhere as Cheryl walks by, the two exchanging a wave and a smile.

“Wait, are you and Cheryl Blossom friends now?”

Josie shrugs, she doubted someone interrupting your date counted as friendship, but they were friendly enough to greet each other in the hallway.

“Acquaintance is more like it.”

“While we’re on the topic of friends, would you mind covering for me again tonight?”

“Sure. Are you ever going to tell me who your super sexy secret mystery bae is?”

“Yeah. As soon you tell me what happened between you and Veronica.”

“Well would you look at that,” Josie pretends to check her phone for the time, “we’re going to be late for class. Bye, Kevin!”

::

Josie taps her pencil against her desk, listening to Haggly drawl on about the War of 1812. She hated history class so much. She turns to look at the person next to her, curiosity creeping in. 

She had caught Midge Klump smoking weed in the bathroom twice. If anyone knew where she could get something to take the edge off, it’d be her.

Midge is all too happy to tell her once she asks, launching into this story about her previous dealer disappeared and she had to go looking for another one.

“Jason was my main guy until…anyway, I go to Reggie now. I’ll text him to let him know he has a new customer.”

Josie flashes Midge a quick smile, nodding along as she continues to ramble on. In truth she wasn’t listening, still stuck on what the girl had said earlier.

Why was Jason selling drugs if his family was rich?

::

Jughead knocks on his father’s trailer, shifting uncomfortably as he waits for his dad to answer the door. Hopefully, he wasn’t passed out on the couch. 

“The prodigal son returns,” his father mumbles after opening the door, stepping back to allow Jughead inside.

Jughead quickly scans the room, trying not to cringe at the empty beer bottles lying around. 

“How you doing?” His father asks. “You look good.”

“I’m hanging in there.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Jughead repeats with a nod. “I came to ask if you would consider going back to work with Fred Andrews.”

His father scoffs, “Yeah, he called me. I said no.” Upon seeing Jughead’s disappointed expression, he tries to defend himself, “What kind of man would I be if I went back, hat in hand?”

“For starters? A man with a job, trying to fix his family.”

“Talk to your mom. She’s the one gave up on us, took your sister with her.”

“Can you please go see Mr. Andrews?” Jughead pleads. “He’s willing to give you another chance?”

“Oh, he’s willing, huh? That’s generous of him, after all the crap he pulled on me.”

“Dad, don’t you want to see our family back together?” Jughead tries to reason with him. “Mom and Jellybean could come home. I could come home.”

He wouldn’t have to sleep at school anymore and his mom and little sister wouldn’t be miles away. His life would be whole again.

The conversation doesn’t go much further than that so Jughead leaves, walking towards Toni’s place after a quick contemplation. They haven’t spoken in awhile and he wanted to see how she was doing.

He doesn’t get very far, stopping when he notices a familiar person driving away.

“Kevin?”

::

Josie leans against the locker next to Reggie, a coyish smile on her face, “Reggie Mantle, I heard about your little side business.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he lies. “And I don’t think your dad would approve.”

“He’s not my dad and he’s not going to find out. I can keep a secret. So, what do you have?”

“I got Amphetamines, Baclofen, Modafinil.”

She takes the money out of her back pocket and shoves it towards him, “I’ll take some Baclofen.”

He pushes the money back towards her, looking around the hallway to make sure no faculty members saw that. “Geez, I’m not dumb. I don’t keep the stuff in my locker.”

Josie slides the money back into her pocket, “Where is it then?”

“Meet me at Pop’s later. I’ll have your stuff.”

Josie shrugs before walking off, missing Veronica by a millisecond who takes her spot besides Reggie.

“Reginald, I hope you don’t have any plans later.”

“I can always make room for you, Ronnie.”

She was hoping he’d say that.

::

Veronica twists the cap of her favorite red lipstick, gently applying it. Her mother stops in the doorway of her bedroom, giving her outfit a quick once over.

“Where are you going? And don’t say clubbing, it’s a school night.”

“But that’s exactly where I’m going, and do you want to know why?” Veronica puts the top back on her lipstick and walks to her closet for a coat, spinning around to face her mom as she slides her arms into it, “Because I have a get out jail free card.”

“Okay, Ronnie, enough. Checkmate. What do you want?”

“I want you to stop cheating on dad. When he finds out, he’s gonna think I knew and betrayed him.”

Veronica sits down on her bed, slipping her feet into a nice pair of kitten heels that she had purchased earlier that day.

“He won’t. I’ll tell him you had no idea.”

“Really? When? Right now? Because I’ll cancel my plans for that.”

“You know it doesn’t work like that.”

“In that case, I’ll talk to you later. My friends are waiting.”

Her friends being Kevin, Midge, and Reggie. Archie was busy, she knew Jughead would say no and Josie was purposely avoiding her, so she had to ask other people. She makes her way to the living room, her mother hot on her tails.

“Ronnie do not go out that door. Veronica!”

::

“Pleasure doing business with you,” Reggie pretends to tip his imaginary hats towards her.

Josie drops the bottle of pills into her purse and begins the short walk back to her house. Hopefully, her mom was out.

She doesn’t notice the car behind her until it’s right beside her. Tom rolls the window down and sticks his head out, “Get in.”

“I’m okay.”

“I’m not blind, Josie. I saw what happened.”

She resists the urge to groan. It was Mantle’s idea to come to the place that everyone and their mother went to. Of course, someone would see them.

Still, she plays it off. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You and Reggie are both underage. Under the law, I’d have to arrest you both.”

Josie snorts, “Good luck with explaining to my mom how you used her daughter to fill your quota.”

He sighs, speeding up and turning the car so he was blocking the road. 

“Either you come with me or I take you to the station,” he says, giving her an ultimatum.

Josie weighs her options. She rather not have to explain to her mother what she was doing with drugs. She walks over to the side of the car, yanking the door open and sliding in.

Tom relaxes a bit, putting the car back into a drive.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he responds cryptically.

::

Drinking and dancing takes her mind off things for a while. Still, she wishes that she was with her other friends, or just one friend in particular. Midge was nice but she wasn’t Josie. Veronica snaps out of her thoughts as the waiter approaches.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Lodge, but your card’s been declined.”

She’s not surprised to hear that.

“And let me guess, it’s been reported stolen.”

The man nods, “It has, in fact. We’re supposed to call the cops.”

Reggie leans back in his seat, giving the man a smug look, “Call the cops. We’ll be happy to tell them how old we are.”

“Or you could call my dad, the sheriff,” Kevin emphasizes the last word.

Veronica reaches inside her purse for some money, leaning forward to pass it to the man, “This should cover it.”

Midge laughs as he walks away, turning her head in Veronica’s direction, “Did your mom cut you off?”

“She did.”

“And that’s a good thing?”

“Oh, Reggie.” Veronica grabs her stuff as she prepares to leave, “This is how we Lodge women roll. We feint, we parry, we approach, we retreat. We’re like a cobra and a mongoose dancing. She blinked, which means, I suspect, that she’s ready to negotiate.”

::

Josie rolls her eyes as Tom stops in front of the church where the AA meetings were held.

“I changed my mind. Take me to jail.”

“Josie,” he says her name exasperatedly. “Just give it a chance. If you don’t like it, I won’t push you to go any more.”

“And you won’t tell my mom about tonight?”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Okay.” She goes to the open door when he calls her back. Josie glances over her shoulder to see his held out expectantly. She rolls her eyes, reaching inside her purse for the pill bottle and handing it over. 

Josie grips her purse tightly as she makes her way to the front door. She knows Tom is still there, making sure that she actually goes inside. 

She follows the sound of laughter to a room near the back. There were a group of people sitting around a table. Two of them looked to be around her age and the rest were much older. 

Grundy stands up, recognizing her immediately, “Josie, I’m so glad you came. Here, take a seat.” 

She ducks her head, rushing to empty seat. It feels weird being here. She expects Grundy to ask her to introduce herself, but the conversation carries on like she never interrupted it.

::

Archie tries to leave it alone but the thought of Jughead sleeping at school bothers him too much. If his dad was never fired, then this wouldn’t be happening.

“Why did you fire Jughead’s dad?” Archie asks his father over dinner that night.

“FP was a mess. He was stealing from the company and selling stuff on the side. All things considered, I was pretty generous.”

“So generous you didn’t give him a second chance?”

His dad frowns, “Of course I did. You have no idea how many times I bailed that man out of jail. Son, when someone is drowning, you can try to save them, but not if they’re going to drag you down with them. I did the best I could for my family—for you.”

“Yeah, and who cares if Jughead ended up drowning too.”

::

Veronica enters the suite to find her mother relaxing on the couch, “Reporting my American Express card as stolen, well played.”

“Now, mija,” her mother faces her as she joins her on the sofa, “I’ve done things to upset you. You’ve done things to upset me. So, we’re going to deal with this just as your father would like. With a negotiation. I’ll start. Yes, I went on a date with Mr. Andrews and we are developing feelings for each other. But I can’t tell you what it means yet because I don’t know myself.”

Veronica appreciates her mother being upfront with her, no matter how much that stings.

“What about Daddy?”

“He has made certain decisions that have distanced him from me, and this family. So, I need to make decisions about my life moving forward, what I want.”

“So, what, you want me to accept your affair?”

“Until we get more information, yes. That is what I’m asking you to accept.”

“Fine. Agreed. Now, my turn.”

“I’m listening.”

“Whatever is happening with you and Fred, can’t happen under this roof. And you have to come clean with Daddy about it. I don’t want him thinking I betrayed him by keeping this secret.”

“I will tell him. And in the meantime, the online shopping, the clubbing, all that stops. Yes?”

She could agree to those terms.

“Yes.”

::

Jughead should really be more careful. Svenson had caught him sneaking back into the school that night and now he was stuck in the Sheriff’s station, waiting for his dad. He’d probably be sent away with a warning, but he still needed a parent to come and pick him up. Emancipation never seemed so tempting at that moment. 

Veronica enters the room, holding up a bag of food from Pop’s, “I heard. How are you feeling, convict?”

“Hungry.”

She places the bag on the table, slides the chair back then sits down in it, “Why didn’t you tell anyone you didn’t have a place to stay? I would have helped.”

“Is my dad here yet?”

Veronica shakes her head, not bothering to repeat her question. “Archie’s here with his dad. They’re talking to Sheriff Keller now. No one knows where your dad is.”

Jughead unwraps his burger and takes a big bite. He was going to be here for a while.

::

Fred eventually convinces Sheriff Keller to let Jughead come home with him. It was obvious FP wasn’t going to show up and they couldn’t keep Jughead here for that long for legal reasons.

“Jughead!”

He flinches at the sound of his dad shouting his name, turning to see him approaching.

“I’m sorry. I came as soon as I got your messages. My phone, the freaking battery,” his tries to explain. “I forgot to plug it in last night. What the hell happened?”

“Nothing,” Jughead hastily responds. He didn’t feel like going over it. “It’s fine now. Mr. Andrews took care of it.”

“What jacked up crap did they accuse you of in there, huh? Those bastards trying to throw you in jail like they did your old man? Well, screw that. I will rip Keller a new one for trying to pull that—”

Fred intercepts FP’s path as he starts towards the station door, “FP, settle down.”

FP pushes him back, eyes narrowed in anger, “This is my son, he is my son, Fred!” His voice softens, “You’d do the same for your boy.”

“Dad,” Jughead steps forward as he gets his father’s attention, “Don’t make things worse. Please.”

“Yeah. Yeah, all right, then.” FP calms down some. “You, uh, coming home with me?”

“He can stay with us, Mr. Jones,” Archie speaks up. “We already offered.”

FP turns to his son, “Is that what you want?”

Jughead gives a reluctant nod, “Maybe that’s what best.”

His dad sighs, clasping Jughead’s shoulders and leaning down so they were eye to eye, “Son, listen to me. I’m gonna do what you want, get my act together. I’m gonna get your mom and Jellybean home so we’re all under the same roof. I promise. But I-I just need a little time to do that. Not a lot, not long. A month, two at most. And then we’ll be back on track, all right. You believe that, don’t you?”

Jughead lifts his head to look at his dad. He’s that speech in so many variations but it never comes true.

“Yeah, I believe you, Dad.”


	7. In a Lonely Place

“Hi.”

Veronica gives her an overly dramatic surprised look, “You’re talking to me now?”

“I brought flowers,” Josie pulls the bouquet from behind her back. “The yellow is for friendship.” 

“Friendship, huh?”

“I’m sorry for what happened the other day but there are still some things I need to work through. I don’t want to mess things up between us and end up losing someone I care about.”

“It’s okay. I get it,” Veronica replies simply.

Josie was expecting more of a fight but she’s relieved by Veronica’s easy acceptance.

“I’m going to my second AA meeting tonight. But I was hoping we could go dress shopping before then.”

“Perhaps I can clear my schedule.”

::

Archie holds the door open for Kevin and Jughead, making a beeline for the kitchen. Football practice always made him hungry.

He finds his dad at the kitchen table, just ending a phone call. 

“What was that about?” He asks, upon seeing his Fred’s stressed expression.

“It’s all good. How was practice?”

“It was good. Did something happen at work?”

“Cliff Blossom made my crew an offer they couldn’t refuse so they walked. Every last one of ‘em.”

“Screw them then,” Archie retorts vehemently, upset on his father’s behalf. “Anyone who’d rather work for Clifford Blossom than you is crazy, Dad.” Archie gets the sense that his dad isn’t telling him the whole story. “Dad? What is it? You always make me talk to you about my problems.”

“The business—it’s in trouble, Archie,” his father reluctantly admits. “Has been for a long time. Big jobs are just few and far between. That’s why this SoDale thing is so important to me. I can’t break ground without a crew, so every day I’m just hemorrhaging cash. We’ve got equipment sitting there, supplies, bills that are past due.”

“D-Dad, why didn’t you tell me? I had no idea.”

Fred sighs, “It was never supposed to get this bad. You work your ass off to build something, and in one false step you could lose everything.”

“No, Dad, you’re not losing anything.” Archie glances at his friends then back at his dad, “We’ll figure this out.”

::

Josie is determined to erase last week from her memory. Homecoming provided the distraction that she needed. 

She finds a long sequined black dress that she’s sure Veronica is going to love. Josie takes it off the rack and walks back to her friend to show it to her.

Meanwile, Veronica is stuck in a staring match with Cheryl who’s flanked by Ginger, Tina, and Betty.

“Hey, Cheryl.”

Cheryl glances at Josie over her shoulder, nodding in response before facing forward again, “It was great talking to you, Ronnie.”

Veronica gives her a tight-lipped smile, “You too, Cher.”

Betty lingers behind as the three other girls walk away, throwing Veronica an apologetic look before following them.

“I found this for you,” Josie holds the dress up higher, hoping to take Veronica’s mind off whatever just happened.

::

“How’d talking to Clifford go?”

Fred gives Hermione a greeting kiss before answering her question, “Good, insofar as I didn’t knock him on his ass, which I really would love to do. He’s in some kind of grudge match with the owner of this land. Lucky us, we’re caught in the crossfire.”

“And this mysterious buyer, does Cliff know who he is?” She asks cautiously.

“No, he’s as in the dark as we are.”

Fred hears a noise, like tires squealing and he moves to the window to see what it is. Archie exits one of the cars with some of his friends. He recognizes Kevin, Jughead, Moose, Chuck, and Reggie easily.

Fred heads outside, approaching the group of teenage boys with a slight frown, “What is this?”

“Your new crew,” Archie replies with a casual grin, “reporting for duty.”

“I appreciate it, I do, but isn’t there something more important you need to be doing? Like going to school, playing football?”

“We can work after practice and on weekends until you find a new crew. Help keep things on schedule.”

“Arch—”

“Come on, Dad. I worked for you the whole summer. And these guys—”

Reggie cuts Archie off, “We’re bruiser studs, Mr. Andrews. At least some of us are.” He directs the last part at Jughead.

Fred sighs, glancing back at Hermione for some help. 

She shrugs, “Desperate times, Fred, huh?”

“Archie, show your friends where the helmets are.”

::

Josie treats Veronica to a nice Pop’s meal after they’re done shopping. Whatever Cheryl or one of the others said Veronica is obviously still bugging her and Josie is curious as to what exactly happened.

“For the fourth of July, my friend Pepper took us for a ride on her father’s yacht. I got like super high. When the fireworks started, I thought someone was shooting and I jumped off the top deck. Then, I cried for five minutes because I thought I died.”

Veronica nearly chokes on her milkshake.

“Wow. Okay. Um, thanks for sharing.”

“I told you a story, now you tell me one. What’s the deal with you and Blossom? I thought you two were back to being friends.”

“My dad and Clifford Blossom used to work together. Someone claimed that he was embezzling money and my dad was arrested. Cheryl sided with her dad and Betty’s mom basically forbade her daughter from hanging out with me. My mom said something the other day about not trusting the Blossoms. I think she might be right.”

::

Moose presses the ice bag to his head, hoping that the spot doesn’t swell up too badly. He’d hate to make his dad worry.

“Who did this to you, Moose?”

“No idea, Reg. But they said, as long as we keep working, they’re gonna keep coming back.”

Sheriff Keller nods, writing down everything they were telling him to put in his official report, “Did you happen to see who it was?”

Moose shakes his head, “It was too dark.”

“Clifford Blossom has made it abundantly clear he would love nothing more than to see this whole project go belly-up,” Fred informs the other man. If anyone should be investigated, it should be him.

“I doubt that Blossom’s gonna hire some thugs to bust up your site and beat up some teenagers,” Keller replies skeptically.

“Maybe it wasn’t him. I mean, this is Serpent territory, right?” Archie glances around for some confirmation. “Maybe it was them. Pissed they had to leave ‘cause of this project.”

Kevin frowns, wondering if he heard Archie right, “Serpents?”

“Yeah.”

“When I worked at the drive-in, the Serpents never bugged me,” Jughead interrupts. He didn’t want this to go somewhere it didn’t have to.

Sheriff Keller puts his notepad away, “All right. I’ll talk to Blossom, but I mean I don’t think we’ll get anywhere unless we can ID these guys. Sorry, Fred.”

“It’s alright, Tom.”

Archie turns and stomps off. It wasn’t okay, not one bit.

::

Kevin knows a bad idea when he sees one and this was definitely a bad idea. Jughead is the only other one who seems to have the same sentiment.

Archie doesn’t listen to either of them, “If Moose spots them, we call Kevin’s dad and get these goons arrested.”

“We don’t know for a fact it was them,” Jughead replies, trying to get his friend to calm down and see the bigger picture.

“Well, it’s still worth a shot if it might help my dad.” Archie stops outside the bar and turns to them, “Jughead, are you in or not?”

Jughead takes a small step, shoving his hands into his pockets, “Sorry, Arch. This isn’t a good idea.”

“Thanks for having my back.”

He yanks the door open, heading inside with Moose and Reggie. Kevin starts to call Joaquin before deciding against it. Someone has to make sure they don’t do anything stupid.

Archie is about to ask Moose if he sees anyone that might look familiar but stops when he notices him staring at one of the guys playing pool.

“Is that one of them?”

“I can’t tell. He looks kind of familiar.”

Kevin goes to pull back Archie back when he starts walking towards one of the Serpents, but his path is intercepted by Joaquin.

“What are you doing here, Preppy?”

There’s a loud crash and Kevin looks to see Archie being thrown onto the table. 

“Hey!” A loud voice calls from the front. “That’s enough, Mustang.”

Archie frowns as he sees Jughead’s dad walking towards him, Mustang releases his hold on the jacket and takes a step back. He mumbles something about Bulldogs always coming in here looking for trouble, but Archie doesn’t pay any attention to it.

“Let’s go, Red and friends.”

Archie follows FP outside, fixing his jacket. Things were starting to make more sense.

“What the hell are you doing here, Red?”

“Looking for the thugs that trashed my dad’s equipment. We figured it was the Serpents, angry for getting kicked off their land, but now that I know you’re a Serpent, I’m thinking this is personal. Going after my dad, his company, that is payback, right? For when he fired you?”

FP laughs, “Man, you’ve got a bigger imagination than Jughead, and that’s saying something.”

Fred pulls up a second later, looking at his son with disappointment, “Get in the truck, Archie.”

::

“Your dad is a Serpent?”

“You’re dating a Serpent,” Jughead retorts. The two of them both had things that didn’t want to become public knowledge but was about to anyway. Secrets never stayed secret for long in this town.

“Touché.” Kevin plops down on the porch next to Jughead. There was something Mustang said that kept bothering him. “What other Bulldog was Mustang talking about?”

Jughead shrugs, “I honestly have no idea.”

“I do,” Josie cuts in as she steps onto the porch. 

“You heard that?” Kevin inquires.

“Duh, you two weren’t exactly whispering. And the Bulldog was Jason. Midge told me that he was her dealer before he was killed.”

Jughead shakes his head, a pensive look on his face. Jason selling drugs made even less sense than him hanging around Serpents.

::

“What now?” 

Hermione falls into step with Fred as they walk back to the site to examine the damage and trying to make an estimate of how much it would cause to fix it.

“I’ve got calls into Greendale and Centerville. Clifford Blossom couldn’t have hired every crew in the state. In the meantime, we’ll just be a two-person crew.”

“That won’t be necessary,” FP says from behind them.

Fred turns around to see with a yellow hard hat in his hand and more people behind him.

“FP, what is this?”

“You need a crew? My guys are looking for work and you never had a better foreman than me. I won’t leave you hanging this time.”

“What if there’s trouble?”

FP snorts, “We can handle trouble.”

Fred grins, relieved, “Thanks a lot, FP.”

“No problem. I’ll catch up with you.”

Hermione crosses her arms over her chest as she turns to her former classmate, “Why the sudden change of heart?”

Last time she checked, FP had declined Fred’s offer of coming back to work for him.

“Consider this a favor to your husband. You’re welcome.”


	8. La Grande Illusion

“Hey, I wanted to talk before you left for school.”

“Um, okay.”

Veronica closes the door and spins around to face her mother.

“Your dad has a hearing coming up and the lawyers are coming over this week to take our statements. We’re both gonna have to testify on your dad’s behalf.”

“What if they ask about what he did? Am I going to have to lie?”

She wants her father back home, but not like this. She wanted it done the right way. Besides, her dad was innocent so what would she even have to lie for?

“We might have to shade the truth a bit, Ronnie,” her mother admits.

::

Archie looks up as the door opens, surprised and somewhat confused to Cheryl there. They had never really spoken before besides her telling him he’d make a great captain.

“If music be the food of love, play on. Play on.”

“Hey, Cheryl.”

He sets his guitar down as she occupies the space on the bench next to him, a casual smile on her face.

“Did you know this week’s the official start of maple syrup season?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Well, it is. And every year, we host a tree-tapping ceremony, a tradition that honors that Blossom bloodline. Our heritage,” she explains. 

“Sounds cool.”

“It is. Beyond. It’s also incredibly exclusive. Family and inner circle only. Wanna be my date? The maple tapping’s something Jason and I have done together since we could walk. It was our extra special thing. But I can’t face it alone. If you came, as my escort, I think I could get through it.”

“Cheryl, I’d love to help but—why not invite Reggie or Moose?”

“You don’t get it, do you? I don’t want Moose or Reggie. I want you.” She falls silent and shakes her head, regretting even thinking of coming here. “Never mind, I’m sorry I’m asked.”

“Cheryl, wait.”

She ignores him, leaving the door wide open as she exits the room.

::

Veronica listens intently as Ethel reads her poem out loud to the class, feeling guilt flood through her. Both their parents went to jail but Ethel’s family seemed to have taken it harder.

_They put me in a wooden box as I desperately opposed_  
_But all my screaming was for naught _  
_My mouth had been sewn closed_  
_Curled up in bed was just a girl_  
_Needing Daddy’s arms to hold her_

_The bell rings, signaling the end of the class. Everyone shuffles out into the hallway, talking with their Fridays about the upcoming football game or what they might they might serve in the cafeteria today._

_Veronica’s mind is still stuck on Ethel’s sad poem during lunch. Moving, but sad. She doesn’t even notice Jughead trying to sneak food off her plate until Josie says something. _

_“What’s on your mind, Ronnie?”_

_Veronica attempts a smile, but it can’t muster the energy for any faux happiness at the moment, “My dad’s lawyer is coming over to talk about us testifying for my dad. There’s a chance he’s getting released early.”_

_“That’s amazing.”_

_Veronica sighs, that’s what she thought in the beginning. But hearing Ethel’s pain and her mom basically telling her to commit perjury, she was beginning to wonder whether her father was completely faultless._

_“My dad wasn’t the only one who was caught. Ethel’s father took the plea deal, but he never got his job back and Clifford basically blackballed him. I can imagine what things have been like at home for her.”_

_“V, it’s not your fault.”_

_Veronica wants to believe that, but she doesn’t. She’s not sure what to believe now._

__

::

“Thanks, Pop.”

“No problem, Archie.”

He goes to leave but his path is intercepted by Penelope Blossom.

“Archibald.”

“Hey, Mrs. Blossom,” he glances around, hoping to find an escape from this conversation before it could really begin.

“Do you have a moment to chat? About Cheryl. I believe she invited you to our tree-tapping ceremony?”

“Yeah. She did and, like I told her, I don’t feel comfortable going.”

Penelope grins, disregarding his response entirely, “Cheryl tells me you have a keen interest in music. Is that true?”

Archie nods, not sure what that had to with anything.

“Did she tell you her Great Uncle Harrison sits on the board of the Brandenburg Music Academy? They have an excellent summer program, I hear. It won’t be hard for someone with a talent like you to get into. And especially not if I put a word in on your behalf. It’s just something to think about, hm?”

“Mrs. Blossom, I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll reconsider taking my daughter to the tapping. It’s just an afternoon. And it would mean the world with Cheryl.”

“I mean, yeah. I guess I could.”

“I swear, Archibald, when the light hits you just right—” she starts to touch his hair then stops herself, holding her hand to her chest. “I’ll tell Cheryl the good news. And I’ll call Great Uncle-Harrison.”

He nods, releasing a breath once she’s walked away. Why did he agree to that?

::

Archie glances around the table, confused by everyone’s reaction to his news.

“I’m doing someone a favor for my music. I need to make connections outside of Riverdale,” he explains, hoping they’d understand it better from his perspective. 

“These kinds of favors always come with a price tag,” Kevin replies.

“Jughead, back me up.”

Jughead shrugs, reaching inside his bookbag for another bag of chips, “I think it’s great idea.”

“Thank you, Jug. And don’t worry, Kevin, I can take care of myself.”

Kevin snorts, he didn’t doubt that, but the Blossoms were something else…and maybe it bugged him that Archie was Cheryl’s date. “Famous last words, Andrews.”

::

Kevin sighs as the call goes to voicemail again. Joaquin had been ignoring him ever since the bar fight and it was started to get on his nerves. He didn’t plan for Archie to go and pick a fight with one of the Serpents.

“You’re jealous,” Josie sing songs as she stops by his locker.

“Of?”

“Cheryl and Archie. I think it’s cute that you’re harboring a crush.”

“You’re one to talk. You’re practically the human embodiment of the heart eyes emoji whenever Veronica is around.”

“We almost kissed,” Josie confesses. 

“And you’re just now telling me?”

“Yeah because you were so forthcoming about who you were hooking up with.”

Kevin glances at his phone then back at Josie, “Milkshake?”

“As if I’d never say no. I do think there is one more person that could use some cheering up.”

Kevin follows Josie’s gaze to where Ethel Muggs is standing and nods his head in agreement. Ethel did look like she could use some cheering up.

::

“Hey,” Archie shouts at the two men talking about Cheryl like she wasn’t standing right there and could hear everything they were saying.

“Archie, you don’t have to.”

“No, Cheryl loved Jason. What was she supposed to do when he went missing, not look for him? And yeah, Jason was on the football team, but Cheryl was at every single game too—doing as much to help with the Bulldogs win as he did. Also, she has a 4.0 grade point average. If there’s one thing, I’ve learned being in Cheryl’s class, it’s don’t underestimate her and don’t bet against her.”

Cheryl’s small frown is replaced by an easy smile, one that is reciprocated by Archie.

::

Clifford pulls him aside after the tapping to talk, Archie reluctantly follows the man.

“Archibald, do you know when Cheryl told me that she wanted you to come with us, I was a little taken aback. You father and I haven’t been seeing eye-to-eye lately.”

“I came for Cheryl, Mr. Blossom. And because I’m grateful for what Mrs. Blossom is doing for me.”

“The music academy, right? Yeah, that would be quite a feather in your cap, wouldn’t it? you know, we can be extremely gracious, Archibald, to the right people. Now later this week, we’re hosting a banquet for the board at the Belmont Lodge. It’s a simple thing, a little dinner, chit-chat, dancing. We would love you to attend as Cheryl’s escort. You two make quite the pair.”

“Oh, I’m honored Mr. Blossom, really, but—”

“But nothing,” Cheryl interrupts. “You have to come, I’m wearing viridian. He’ll need a proper suit, don’t you think, Daddy?”

“I’ll have my tailor fit you. If that’s not a problem?”

“No. No, no, it’s just—” Archie pauses as he tries to gather his thoughts, “I’m an Andrews like you said, Mr. Blossom. My dad works construction, a fancy banquet’s not really our thing.”

“That’s precisely why you should come,” Clifford retorts. “People like you are the bedrock of our town. You’re hard workers.”

“Plus, I need a dance partner,” Cheryl adds. “We won’t take no for an answer.”

::

Veronica kicks her shoes off and joins Josie on her bed. She was having some serious emotional turmoil and needed someone to talk about. Josie was the first person that came to mind.

“What are you doing?”

“Watching Leverage reruns.” Josie sets her phone to the side and gives Veronica her full attention, “What’s bothering you?”

“I don’t know if I can testify for my dad. What if—what he’s guilty?”

“I won’t pretend that I know what you’re going through, but what if he’s not? He’s spent the last year or so in prison and I doubt he’d do anything to go back.”

Veronica turns on her side, laying her head on Josie’s pillow, “So, you think I should do it?”

She gives Veronica a half smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, “I think you should do what you think is right.”

Veronica smiles softly, thanking whatever force brought Josie McCoy into her life.

::

Being fitted for a suit is not as fun as Archie thought it would be. There is one thing he’s been meaning to ask since his conversation with his father last night and there was no time like the present.

“Could I talk to you, Mr. Blossom?” The tailor leaves to give them some privacy and Archie continues, “Things aren’t going great at my dad’s company and I know you two have been at odds recently. I was wondering, instead of helping me with that music school, if maybe you could help my dad.”

“Are you negotiating on behalf of your father? I’m impressed. In fact, I’m trying to imagine if Jason would have given up something like that for me and I don’t believe so. It speaks to your character. It speaks to your character son. But I’ll tell you what,” Clifford clasps his shoulder, “we’ve already called the Brandenburg Music Academy. They’re very excited to meet you, by the way. Let’s just get through this banquet, all right? Sit down man-to-man and discuss what I can do for Fred Andrews.”

Archie nods, happy that the Clifford had agreed. Maybe his dad could relax now.

::

Kevin hangs at the back of the room, waiting for Josie. He had promised that he picked her up from her AA meeting.

Josie approaches him with a smile, “Thanks for coming to get me.”

“Does any of this actually help?”

Josie takes a minute to think it over. She hated it in the beginning, sitting around a bunch of strangers and talking about how she felt and her experiences with drugs, but she found a small ally in Ben Button and things were more bearable.

“It’s always nice to have someone to talk to who understands.”

::

Archie is trying to find the bathroom when he happens upon a Penelope and Clifford Blossom conversating. He wonders if that’s his thing now, overhearing other people talking.

“They seem satisfied, but Uncle Bedford keeps asking about the drive-in land.”

Clifford sighs, “I am so close to getting that land back. Hermione Lodge will crumble.”

“Who would have thought that she’d prove so resourceful? Maybe you should’ve sent her to jail instead of Hiram.”

A gasp leaves him before he can stop it. He jogs away before they can find him, running straight into Cheryl.

“I thought it was Cinderella that ran away from the ball, not Prince Charming.”

“Cheryl, I can’t do this right now.”

He really needed to get out of here. 

“Archie Andrews, if you leave, the radiant sun that is the Blossom family stops shining on you. Everything that we’ve given you disappears including Bradenburg. Are you sure you want to give that up? Are you sure you want to give that up?”

“Cheryl, I came here as a favor to your mom, to help you.”

She scoffs, “Oh, Archie, don’t start lying now. You may not want anything from me but you do from my mom and dad, that’s why you’re here. Which means, as I much as I want you to be better than everyone else, you’re not. You’re just like the others.”

Her words sting but she’s not entirely wrong. That’s the part that hurts the worse.

“I’m sorry, Cheryl. But I-I can’t do this anymore.”

::

Archie catches Veronica at her locker at the end of the day, just before she's about to leave and his practice is about to start.

“Ronnie, hey.” 

“Hey, Archie. What's wrong?” She asks, noticing the slight distressed expression on his face.

“There’s something I need to tell you.” 

He's not sure what exactly to saw out or how to say but he knows Veronica deserves to know. He'd want to if he was in her position. 

“Veronica, there are you.” Hermione rushes over to her daughter, exasperated, “We cannot afford to be late. Paul is on his way.”

Veronica throws her friend a quick apologetic glance, “Rain check?” 

He nods, forcing himself to not look in Hermione's direction. “Sure. I'll talk to you later.”

He doesn't move from his spot, watching the two women walk away. Josie skips over to him, wondering what had him so...unnerved.

“Where's your head at, Red?” He jumps, just noticing that he wasn't alone anymore. Maybe Josie could help him make sense of things. “I have something to tell you about, but you can't tell anyone else.” 

Josie nods, resisting the urge to crack a joke. She had never seen Archie look so serious before.  
“What it is about?”

“Veronica and her parents. I overheard Clifford say–” Josie reaches out, covering his mouth with her hand to shut him up. Whatever he was about to say needed to be said far away from here. She didn't want to risk the wrong person hearing it.


	9. To Riverdale and Back Again

Josie never thought she’d say but she misses California’s weather. It was always warm. Even during the winter, it never got this cold.

Now, she was huddled under a blanket while her mom was making hot chocolate and Tom was scavenging the yard for sticks he could use to get the fireplace lit. They were actually using a real fireplace instead of an electric one.

“How do you live like this?”

Jughead chuckles at her question, “Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.”

“Guys,” Archie shifts the focus back to him, “what should we do?”

Josie takes Jinx off the table and places the cat in her lap instead, not wanting to hear another lecture from her mom. Jinx purrs deeply as Josie strokes her back.

Jughead leans forward, a pensive look on his face, “Let’s say that what you heard is true. Why would Clifford Blossom have Hiram sent to jail? What would he achieve?”

Archie shrugs, “The board of trustees wanted to kick him out of the company. Maybe it had something to do with that.”

“It’s plausible,” Kevin replies. It’s the only thing that makes sense at this point. 

“Do we tell Veronica or not?” Archie asks again.

Jughead nods, “It’s better she finds out now from us.”

“Okay,” Josie agrees. “But only after Homecoming. We’re not going to drop this bomb on her hours before the dance.”

::

Cheryl struts into her parent’s room, relieved that they were gone. She knew Penelope would never let her borrow any jewelry but since neither of them were here she was going to take her sweet time.

She searches through the ring boxes on the dresser but doesn’t find anything worthwhile. She moves to the jewelry box, opening the last drawer first. 

Cheryl pauses, hand shaking slightly as she plucks Jason’s championship ring from the slot. Her brother never went anywhere without. The only way her parents would have it was if…

“Cheryl?”

She flinches, spinning around to see Nana Rose in the doorway, “Hi, Nana.”

Cheryl slides the ring into the pocket of her robe, for safekeeping.

::

Archie spots Kevin at his locker and jogs over to him. He was hoping to ask him something before the dance.

“Archie, hi.”

“Hey, Kevin. I, um, was wondering if you had a date for the dance.”

Kevin holds his notebook to his chest, ignoring Josie mouthing ‘say yes’ from behind Archie.

“Listen, Archie, you’re hot. My type? Definitely. I think you might be boyfriend worthy—”

“I agree,” Archie cuts him off midsentence. “Let’s test that theory at the Homecoming Dance.”

“I don’t have the bandwidth to explore anything serious with anyone right now.”

Archie nods, trying to hide his disappointment. Maybe he had read things wrong between him and Kevin.

Josie takes Archie’s spot after he’s walked away, appalled, “What is wrong with you?”

“Do you want the abriged version?”

“I’m being serious, Kevin. You like Archie, Archie likes you. What’s the problem?”

Kevin sighs, glancing down then back up, “Archie is a relationship guy. I’m not.”

“How would you know that if you’ve never tried?”

::

Veronica climbs onto the truck with Josie, almost falling as she trips over Chuck’s shoe.

Everyone from the school plus a few graduates from last year were gathered in the back of Mallmart, drinking and dancing to the music coming out of the speakers.

The tailgate pregame tradition was still going strong. 

Josie’s hand are on her waist, keeping her upright, “You good?”

Veronica nods, trying to ignore how close they were. She takes a step back, glancing at the red solo cup in Josie’s hand, “Someone’s having fun.”

“It’s just orange juice. I figured if it looked like I’m drinking no one would offer me anything. You can stop worrying, okay?”

“Okay.”

::

“You can’t leave the hat at a home for the day?”

Jughead smiles wryly, “The beanie makes the man.”

“You two look so handsome.”

“Mom?”

“Mrs. Andrews?”

Archie moves quickly, enveloping his mother in a tight hug, “I thought you weren’t coming till Christmas.”

“I know that’s what I said but I couldn’t wait that long.” She pulls away from the hug and places her hands on his shoulders, “I missed you too much.”

“I missed you too, mom.” He had no idea just how much until now.

::

“I’m so glad we don’t have to perform tonight,” Melody exclaims as she slips her feet back into her heels.

“Me too,” Valerie voices her agreement.

Josie glances out the window as the car stops. The hall the dance was at looked nice enough on the outside. 

Kevin had left earlier since he was acting as the emcee for the night. 

Tom looks at them through the rearview mirror with a smile, “You girls have fun.”

“We will. Thanks for driving us, Tom.”

Her mom lingers in the car, brows raised as she turns to the other person in the car, “Tom? Since when are you two on a first name basis?”

::

Veronica is about to text Josie to ask if she was on her way when she sees her. The world seems to slow down as Veronica takes in her appearance.

Her hair was a mixture of blue and black to match her dress. Her braids hung loosely around her shoulders, a few tucked behind her ear. The dress was black, with blue lace starting at the midriff and spreading to the one long sleeve. 

“You should go talk to her,” Jughead suggests, snapping her out of her daze. 

“Hold this,” she hands him her clutch then starts making her way to Josie.

::

“Hey, Preppy.”

Kevin turns around and comes face to face with Joaquin. The guy who has been ignoring him for days.

“You’re here.”

Joaquin shrugs, “I thought I’d come surprise you. Surprise.”

Kevin thinks about asking him if he knew about Jason Blossom but decides against it. That could wait.

“Are you going to ask me to dance or are you just going to stand there?”

Joaquin laughs, the tension leaving his shoulders. 

“Only if you can keep up, Preppy.”

Kevin knows this moment, whatever they have, isn’t going to last much longer so he plans on savoring this for as long as he could. He takes Joaquin’s hand and interlocks their fingers and leads him towards the dancefloor.

::

Archie observes everyone. Veronica was dancing with Josie, his parents were dancing with each other, Kevin was dancing with someone that wasn’t him.

Jughead places his hand on his best friend’s shoulder, noticing the sad expression on his face, “You’ve still got me, buddy.”

Archie sits up straighter, a smile replacing his frown, “Yeah?”

“Always.”

::

When Joaquin returns home, there’s someone sitting in one of his chairs.

He turns on the lights so he can see it who it is. He recognizes her from the articles he’s seen online about her husband, “How’d you get in here?”

“I bribed your landlord for the spare key. I think there’s something you could help me with.”

“Like what?”

“I know you know what happened to Jason Blossom. Tell me and I’ll make sure that you and your brother have a nice play to stay.”

Joaquin squares his shoulder, eyeing the woman in front of him with a certain wariness, “What do you need me to do?”

Hermione grins devilishly.


	10. The Lost Weekend

Josie is glad for winter break. It gives them all a much-needed chance to not focus on schoolwork or whatever drama was happening. The holidays were a special time.

Sierra parks her card in front of one of the many Mallmart entrances, turning to her daughter with a bright smile, “Call me when you’re done.”

“I will.”

“Don’t forget to look for the candles,” her mother reminds her. Some of their stuff had gotten lost in the move and they couldn’t just place an empty kinara on the table. Her mom refused to celebrate Kwanzaa without the entire table set.

“I won’t.”

“And let me know if—”

“Mom,” Josie interrupts, “can you unlock the door?”

“Sorry.”

“Thank you.”

Josie exits the car, rubbing her hands together as the cold air hits her at once. Snow, cold weather, an actual winter was something she still had to get used to.

“I told you to bring a scarf.” Kevin says as he comes to a stand next to her.

“Bite me.”

::

Archie throws his best friend a quick glance as he and his father struggle to get the tree inside, “A little help, Jug?”

“I think I’m more help over here,” Jughead replies, taking another bite out of the freshly baked cookies. Mary shakes her head fondly, reaching over and taking a cookie for herself. 

They finally manage to get tree inside, Fred setting it down with a huff. Maybe he should’ve listened to Mary and just bought a fake one. 

Fred frowns as someone knocks on the door, not remembering inviting anyone over. He walks over to answer it, shocked to see FP on the other side. 

Jughead thinks he looks better than the last time they saw each other. Sober. 

FP raises the turkey in his hand higher from everyone to see, “Got room for one more?”

::

Josie settles on the floor in front of in front of Veronica’s bed, the cup of hot chocolate in her lap keeping her leg warm.

“I can’t believe you think All I Want for Christmas isn’t the best Christmas song?”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t the best,” Veronica defends herself. “I just said it isn’t the only good one.” She joins her friend on the floor, holding her mug tightly in one hand as she gets situated. “How come you didn’t want to go to your house.”

“I’m pretty sure Kevin’s dad is going to burn down the kitchen trying to cook,” Josie replies. Truthfully, her mom had kicked her out the house after she kept trying to sneak a peek at her gifts.

Veronica playfully shoves her shoulder. Her happiness doesn’t last long, shoulders slumping, “I know that this is supposed to be a merry day, but—”

“But you miss your dad.” Josie nods in understand. That’s how she felt when her father’s tours coincided with birthdays and holidays.

“Yeah. He’d always take us to New York to visit my aunts and uncles. We’d go ice-skating in Central Park, shopping for new pearls at Tiffany’s and have dinner at my abuelita’s favorite restaurant,” she ends her trip down memory lane with a wistful sigh.

Josie perks up as an idea comes to mind, “We can still do some of those things. There’s a rink in Centerville and there’s no better restaurant than Pop’s.”

“And the pearls?”

“You’ll just have to wait until Christmas for your gift. I’m going to go home and get dressed. I’ll meet you back here.”

Josie is up before she can even think of declining her offer, not that she was going to.

::

Kevin always loved Christmas. It’s his favorite holiday. Between decorating the tree and baking Santa shaped sugar cookies, there was nothing not to love.

He’s leaving the Postal Office after mailing his mom a Christmas card when he runs into Cheryl Blossom leaving the coffee shop next door, a crestfallen look on her face. Hearing about the Blossoms was one thing but being on the receiving end of Penelope and Clifford’s cruelty was another. 

“Hey, Cheryl. What are you doing later?”

::

Veronica tries to coax Josie away from the sideline, “Come on. I promise I won’t let you fall.”

Josie shakes her head, still clinging to the metal bar, “Ice is not meant to be skated on.”

Veronica does her best to hold back her laughter but a few still escape.

“Come on, Josie.”

Josie relents after a few more seconds, latching onto Veronica’s hands as she pushes off the wall. Josie relaxes once she’s sure safe, gliding more easily.

It’s completely worth it when she sees the wide grin on the other girl’s face.

They skate until sunset and the rink is mostly empty. Veronica doesn’t notice or care enough to give it a second thought. Being here, with Josie, doing something she loves. It just feels right.

::

Dinner is going great, better than Jughead expected it to with his father around. The tree is up and decorated, the food is done, and they’re all seated around the table.

Archie is laughing about something that happened at practice the other day and his dad is pitching in with his own story about his days on the football team. Mary was jumping in every now and then, correcting him about certain things.

_“That was Alice, not Hermione.”_

Jughead stares at his dad and thinks, maybe, it’s time for him to go home.

::

Archie knocks on Kevin’s front door, patiently waiting for someone to answer. The more seconds that pass, the more self-conscious he feels. His gift wasn’t anything big, just a couple of V-neck sweaters that he thought Kevin would like.

The door finally opens, Archie smiling as he sees Kevin, “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Archie. Did you want to come in?”

He declines the offer, wanting to spend as much with his mom as he could before she went back to Chicago.

“I just wanted to give you this,” Archie thrusts the bag towards Kevin, wiping his sweaty hands on his pants once they’re free. 

“Thanks. I, um, left your gift with your dad.”

“I saw. Vegas loves the new toy.”

“Good. That’s good.”

Something above Archie’s head captures his attention. He glances up, a small smile gracing his features as he sees the small plant above his head. It remains there as he looks back down at Kevin.

“A mistletoe. I guess we should kiss now.”

“My dad must’ve put that up. It’s fine, we don’t have to.”

Archie backtracks, feeling self-conscious again, “I—Forget I said anything. It was a stupid idea.”

“Arch, wait,” Kevin reaches for him as he turns to leave. Grasping Archie’s face between both hands, Kevin crashes his lips against his. It takes a moment for Archie to overcome his shock, kissing Kevin back with equal passion once he does.

The only word Kevin can think of to describe the kiss is magical. Like everything just fades to the background and there was no one in the world but the two of them…and Veronica.

“Oh my god!” She shouts then immediately covers her mouth with her hands.

Archie pulls away, looking over his shoulder to see Veronica and Josie standing on the sidewalk, similar expressions of surprise on their face.

Kevin drops his head, displeased that the kiss had ended so quickly. He doubts that’ll be the last one though.

::

“You’re just in time for dinner,” Josie’s mother says in greeting as they walk through the door. Veronica hangs her cloak on the coat rack before following Josie into the dining room where everyone else was, Chery Blossom included. 

“Merry Christmas, Lodge,” though Cheryl mostly uses the last name as an insult, there’s no real menace behind it this time.

“Merry Christmas, Cheryl.”

::

“Okay, close your eyes.”

Veronica does, excited to see what Josie had gotten her. She hears the curly haired girl move around the room before the bed dips under her weight as she sits back down. 

Veronica feels something cold brush against her wrist.

“Okay, open them now.”

Veronica glances at her wrist immediately. Around it is a pearl bracelet with a silver clasp and a charm with her initials on it.

“I know it’s not a necklace, but it’s the best I could get on such short notice.”

“It’s perfect.”

Veronica stares at it with adoration then looks up at her with a heartfelt gaze. Josie knows they’re about to kiss and she wants to. She wants to a lot, but she can’t. Not while she’s still keeping a secret from her.

“Ronnie, there’s something I need to tell you about your parents.”


	11. Anatomy of a Murder

Veronica feels like her head is whirling from everything that Josie told her. She goes to straight to the Pembrook hotel to confront her mom, or at least get her side of the story. 

She goes to the open the door but stops, hearing shout on the other side. She recognizes one voice as her mother’s and the other as Alice Cooper’s.

_“I’m not doing that!”_

_“It’s too late too for cold feet, Alice. This will get done with or without you.”_

_“I will not let those degenerates attend the same school as my daughter.” _

_“As I recall, Alice, you used to be one of those degenerates.”_

Veronica opens the door, making her presence known. She’s heard enough.

She smiles sweetly, “Mayor Cooper, may I talk to my mother alone?”

“Gladly.”

Veronica waits for the eventual sound of the door closing before facing her mom, “We need to talk.”

::

“What happened?” Kevin asks, standing in Josie’s bedroom doorway with a concerned look, “Veronica left kinda fast.”

Josie sighs, stroking Jinx’s fur softly, “I told her. About everything.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. _Oh_.”

::

“Clifford had Daddy arrested. Did he really do those things Clifford said? You brought the Drive-in. Have you two been working together this whole time? And to do what exactly?”

Hermione removes her glasses, gesturing for Veronica to sit down, “Who told you?”

“You’re not even going to deny it?”

“Give me a chance to explain, Ronnie.”

She hesitantly nods. After all, she only wants the truth.

“Your dad was going to buy Clifford out of the Blossom Maple Farms. When he found out, he had your father arrested, yes. Your father put some money away to start a new company: Lodge Industries.”

“Why was Mrs. Cooper so upset?”

Hermione sighs, “She isn’t happy with some of our plans.”

“Like?”

“Like shutting down Southside High. Your dad needs the land for SoDale if this is going to work.”

“Why not just tell me?”

“Because you were already dealing with so much,” Hermione replies, brushing a piece of her daughter’s hair back, “I didn’t want this to feel like a burden for you.”

“And it’s completely legit?”

Hermione nods, “Completely, but you can’t tell anyone yet. People will back out of the deal if they know your father is involved.”

“I won’t tell.”

::

Cheryl stands behind at the McCoy-Keller household, offering to help Josie with the dishes. She wasn’t ready to go home yet. 

She had hidden the ring her under pillow but neither Clifford nor Penelope have brought up the fact that it was missing. 

As much as she wants to believe otherwise, it’s no coincidence that the ring was them. One of them knew more than they were letting on. She debated talking to Sherriff Keller about it.

“Cheryl?”

“Huh?”

“I asked if you wanted to watch TV. I got a couple of Christmas movies in my room.”

“Oh.” Cheryl forces a smile and nods, “That sounds great, Josie.”

::

Kevin drives to the bus station after receiving the text from Joaquin that he was leaving. He at least wanted to say goodbye. A part of him wonders if this a joke until he sees the duffel bag in Joaquin’s hand.

“You’re really leaving?”

“I ran into some trouble. I gotta get out of town.”

“Does this trouble have anything to do with Jason Blossom selling drugs for your gang?”

Joaquin’s eyes widen a bit in alarm, “How do you know that?”

“It’s a small town, Joaquin. People talk.”

“There’s a lot more you don’t know.”

“Tell me.”

Joaquin sighs, licking his subconsciously. He reaches inside his jacket pocket for the USB drive, the one Hermione Lodge had come to him for. He had no idea how she even knew about it, but he knew it wouldn’t be a matter of time before Clifford Blossom came knocking on his door and he knew how that would end.

“Give it to your dad. Trust me, he’s going to want to see this.”

Kevin takes the USB drive, sticking it in his back pocket. He guesses this is goodbye.

“I’m gonna miss you, Preppy.”

Joaquin hesitates before walking away and boarding the bus.

::

Josie doesn’t see Veronica again until two days later which may have been her fault since she didn’t make an attempt to call or text the girl. She figured that Veronica might need her space.

They run into each other at Pop’s Diner. Josie orders her food then joins Veronica at the booth she was sitting in..

“Hey, Josie.”

“Hey, Ronnie. So,” she taps her knuckles against the table, “how’d talking with your mom go?”

“Fine.”

She was expecting more of a response than that. 

“Just fine?”

“She explained everything to me and we’re good.”

“Okay. That’s…good.”

“You can stop worrying. My parents aren’t like evil criminal masterminds or anything.”

Josie forces a laugh, “Of course not.”

::

“Mommy,” Cheryl looks at her imploringly, “that last morning, before JJ and I went to the river, why were he and Daddy arguing?”

“We’ve been over this,” her mother’s tone is one of annoyance. “Your father dedicated himself to grooming Jason to take over the family business but in the end—”

“He couldn’t stomach it.”

Cheryl stands up, turning to see her father approaching. She wonders how much of that he heard.

“When, really, I should have been nurturing you,” he continues. “Jason never had the stomach for any of it, but you…you’re a Blossom.”

“But why?” She continues to press at them for a deeper answer. “What couldn’t he handle?”

Clifford chuckles, “So many questions, Cheryl.”

And not one answer.

::

Josie settles on the couch with Kevin. This whole day just felt too weird.

“Veronica talked to her mom, so I guess everything is okay now.”

“Joaquin left town, so I don’t have to have the awkward ‘I have feelings for someone else’ conversation.”

“And Archie?”

“I’ll save that conversation for tomorrow.”

She reaches for the remote and turns on the TV. It’s on the local news channel where Mayor Cooper is giving a speech.

Josie turns it to hear better. She has a feeling that the older woman is about to announce something important.

_“I have decided to step down from my position as mayor. I love this job, but it is time that I pass the torch over to someone else.”_

Josie changes the channel to something more entertaining. Mayor Cooper resigning with everything going on couldn’t be just a coincidence.

“Josie?”

“Yeah?”

“I miss California.”

“Me too, Kevin. Me too.”

::

Cheryl bends down in front of her mother. There were still some things that didn’t make sense to her and she was certain her father wasn’t being completely honest with her.

“What was JJ running away from? The business? Daddy? You? Ow!” Cheryl cries out in pain as Penelope grips her hands tightly.

“You think your father killed your brother? You think I did? You think we murdered him and threw him in the river because Jason knew some deep, dark, horrible secret about our business?” 

Her mother drags her to the barn and all but throws her inside.

“There it is! There’s the sticky, dark, dirty truth. Maple syrup! Drown in it, why don’t you?”

::

Kevin isn’t sure how they all ended up in his room. He had invited Archie over so they could talk, and he arrived with Veronica and Jughead, turning their hangout into a group thing. 

Josie feels something poking her back and lifts to move whatever it was.

“What’s the flash drive for?” Jughead asks when he sees it, curious.

Kevin shrugs, “Joaquin gave it to me. Give me.” He catches it as Jughead tosses to him then grabs his laptop off the floor.

They gather around Kevin as he starts the laptop up, the girls on his right and the boys on his left.

Nothing could prepare any of them for what they’re about to see.

Veronica is the first to move, fumbling with her phone as she dials Cheryl’s number.

“Veronica?”

“Cheryl, you have to get out of that house.”

“I understand. Thank you.” Cheryl ends the call, a lone tear running down her cheek. She leaves her room, wiping at her cheeks as she descends the staircase. Her parents are in the dining room, eating and conversing as if everything was okay.

“Cheryl?”

“You did a bad thing, Daddy. And now everyone knows.”


	12. The Sweet Hereafter

Sometimes, it seems like no time has passed at all. The other time, it’s like Kevin can’t go anywhere without being reminded of how much things have changed for them. 

The moon is full night, adding an ominous feeling to the atmosphere. The two were sitting on the porch, relaxing in the comfortable silence. It wouldn’t last long, not when the truth about Jason Blossom’s murder would become public information in a matter of hours.

“Can you believe we’ve been here for like five months?” Josie asks, tone twinged with disbelief.

“Our parents are probably going to get married,” he states with a humorless laugh, flicking an ant off his pants.

“You think?” There was no doubt in Josie’s mind that that was bound to happen, and she wasn’t as opposed to it as she would have been two months ago. Tom was growing on her and there were worse people she could have as a step-brother than Kevin.

“I’m in an exclusive relationship and…” Kevin trails off as he turns to her.

Josie leans over and rests her head on his shoulder, “I’m completely sober. We deserve a awards.”

“That we do.”

::

Jughead adjusts his beanie as he sinks into the couch. Clifford Blossom hand hung himself in his barn a few hours earlier and the case was officially closed. Joaquin, as Kevin told them, had fled town. Everything was tied up with a nice little bow.

“Are you sure you want to move back in with your dad?”

Jughead nods, zipping up his duffel bag, “I think it’s time.”

“Yeah.” Archie clears his throat as he sets his guitar to the side. “You know you can talk to me about anything. You’re like—you’re like my brother.”

“Nice bro-whisper, Archie. You are my brother.”

::

Veronica waits until most of the Vixens have cleared out before entering the locker room. She was hoping to speak to Cheryl alone, to see how she is dealing with everything. 

“Veronica, you’re just in time for my abdication.”

Her brows crease in confusion, “You’re quitting the Vixens?”

“I have. You will be their new directrix.”

“What?”

“And I wanted to give you this.”

Veronica glances from the yellow and white shirt to Cheryl’s smiling face, “Your HBIC shirt?”

“These last few days have put things in perspective,” Chery explains.

“I understand. But if you personally need anything—”

“I’m fine,” Cheryl interrupts her, tone gentle. “I’ve shed my tears for the Blossom men.”

Veronica nods in acceptance, though she doesn’t feel any less concerned for her friend.

::

“You know, I thought Riverdale would be better for you than Chicago.” Mary wasn’t so sure of that now.

“It’s okay, Mom. Really, I’m okay. And I mean, it hasn’t been all bad. My friends are amazing,” a smile graces his features at the thought of them. “Dad and I are closer than ever right now.” He had thought about moving with his mom to Chicago, but he isn’t ready to leave Riverdale.

“And also, you’ve been singing and songwriting. Your dad tells me that you’re great.”

He nods, laughing shortly. Of course, his dad did.

“I hope you’ll play me some songs before I go.”

“Yeah, for sure.”

::

“You wanna tell me who those guys are out there?” Fred asks. He was surprised to find an entirely different crew of people when he arrived to work that day. 

“Our new crew,” Hermione replies simply. “I let the Serpents go.”

“You fired them? Why would you do that?”

“Governor Dooley is cracking down. Especially on the Serpents.”

“Those guys stood by us, okay? When we had no else.”

“Hiram is coming home,” she informs Fred. “I can’t let him, or this project, be associated with criminals.”

“You don’t get to make unilateral decisions. Cause we’re partners, remember?” 

Hermione was hoping he wouldn’t take this the wrong way when she told him, “Hiram and I are the anonymous buyers, you work for Lodge Industries. We’ve talked and we’d like to buy you out. Fred, I’ve dragged you into a situation that you never wanted to be a part of.”

He takes a moment to let everything she just told him sink in. He didn’t see a way out of this without losing.

“Make me an offer in writing. I’ll consider it.”

::

Veronica is in the middle of helping Josie, Melody, and Valerie set up for their performance at tonight’s Jubilee when she receives the text from Cheryl.

_Thanks for trying. I’m going to be with Jason now. _

“Oh my god.”

“Veronica, what’s wrong?”

“We have to go!”

She runs to find Kevin, the only one of them with a car.

“I don’t have time to explain but we need to leave.”

Jughead and Archie follow without question. The ride to Sweetwater River is short; the car barely stops before Veronica is jumping out. She moves through the snow briskly, calling out the redhead’s name.

“There she is,” Kevin points to Cheryl after spotting her, beating frantically on the ground.

Josie took a step forward to get to her when she realizes what she’s trying to do, but Jughead pulls her back. 

“The ice. Too much weight and we’ll go under.”

Josie reluctantly takes a step back, cupping her hands around her mouth as she and others scream Cheryl’s name. 

“Cheryl, please. Just come to the shore and we’ll figure this out together,” Veronica pleads.

Cheryl stands up, turning around so she was facing them. Snowflakes clung to her eyebrows and white dress. The ice beneath her gives in and she drops straight into the water.

The five of them take off, running as fast as they can. Fear and adrenaline coursing their veins.

Archie drops to his knees in front of the hole she fell into, but he doesn’t see her.

“The current has her. Spread out, spread out!” Jughead yells at them.

They do, kicking up snow and pushing it out of the way, desperately trying to find where girl before it was too late.

“She’s here! She’s here,” Archie shouts, feeling a weight lift off his shoulder. They could save her. 

He rears his fist back and punches the ice over and over again, fist beginning to bleed. Archie can barely feel the pain. His blood mixes with the freezing water.

“Archie, be careful.”

He ignores Kevin and keeps going, smashing at the ice with both hands until a hole big enough to pull Cheryl out is formed. 

Archie grabs her arm and pulls her out, laying her softly on the ground. He presses his hand on her chest and pushes down, remembering that CPR training he took in 9th grade. 

_One. Two. Three. Four. Five._

He tilts her head back, pinches her nose and breathes into her mouth. Still nothing.

Archie tries again, determined to save her. When he goes to give her mouth to mouth again, it works; Archie backs away as Cheryl coughs up water. 

He scoops her up into his arm and carries her away from Sweetwater River, the others trailing behind him.

::

Josie had wanted to take Cheryl to the hospital, but she had been adamant about not wanting to go. So, she brought her back to her house and lit a fire in the fireplace to help her warm up. 

She hands her the cup of hot chocolate before heading back into the kitchen where her mom is, just ending a phone call.

“Is it okay if Cheryl stays with us for a while?”

“Sure,” her mother agrees without any countenance. 

“Who was that on the phone?”

“That was Governor Dooley. He wants me to step in as acting mayor and I said yes. Isn’t this great, honey?”

It was the furthest thing from great, but she didn’t want to dampen her mother’s celebratory mood.

“That’s so great.”

::

“Fred,” Hermione greets him with a polite smile. “Have you given anymore thoughts to my generous offer?”

“Yes, it is a, uh, very generous offer. I’m not selling, Hermione.” 

She’s taken aback by his decision. “I told you, it’s in your best interest to get out before Hiram comes back.”

“Is it in your best interest? Riverdale is at a crossroads and I think you are too. So, I will see you at work, partner.” He squeezes her shoulders before taking a seat beside Jughead.

::

Melody remains on the stage after she’s done performing, placing the index cards with her speech written on it on the podium. Ginger was supposed to be speaking but her girlfriend had come down with a stomach flu and she had agreed to do it for her.

She opens her mouth to start speaking but stops, noticing that everyone is too busy gawking at their phones to listen.

Melody reaches for her own, hearing the device ding. She unlocks her phone to see an email from Weatherbee. Eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, Melody reads the email out loud.

“Effectively immediately, Southside High School is shut down. And its students will be transferred to other schools in the district, including Riverdale High.”

::

“Cheryl,” her mother calls out, “what on god’s earth is that smell?”

“Gasoline.” She takes the candelabra off the mantle, feeling a little smug at the way her mother takes a cautious step back, “it’s the only way we can truly start over, be purified.”

“Oh, god.”

Cheryl drops the candelabra, watching as the flames cover the floor and lick up the wall. She was going to start over.

::

“Are you parents’ home?”

Kevin shakes his head no, hanging his coat on the rack. He turns and see the flicker of uncertainty in Archie’s eyes and Kevin quickly reassures him that they don’t have to do anything.

“Josie has a bunch of movies we can watch.”

“It’s not that. I…just never been with anyone before,” Archie professes.

“Are you sure?” Kevin asks. He doesn’t want Archie to feel pressured. Everyone moves at their own pace.

Archie’s response is a passionate kiss, a smile on his face as they separate, “I want this. I want you.”

Kevin grabs the back of Archie’s neck and pulls closer for another kiss, the two walking backwards to his room. They break apart as they fall on the bed, knees knocking against each other.

::

Josie had offered to walk Veronica home after they leave Pop’s and readily agrees, wanting to spend as much time with Josie as she could before the night ended.

She swings their interwoven hands back and forth as they walk down the sidewalk, stopping when they reach the Pembrooke.

Josie is about to wish her good night, but Veronica is grabbing her face and pulling her close. Her lips are undeniably soft, and a little sticky from her lip gloss. Josie freezes, because as many times as she’s thought about kissing Veronica, she never made a move.

Veronica starts to pull away and that’s when she reacts, arms looping around the girl’s shoulder as she kisses her back. 

Someone clears their throat and the two break apart, turning to see Hermione standing there.

“Mom?”

“Josie, it’s getting late. You should probably start heading home.”

She phrases it like a suggestion, but her expression says otherwise.

“Yeah. I’ll, um, see you later, Veronica.”

::

Archie feels like he’s on top of the world after leaving Kevin’s house, taking the shortcut to Pop’s Diner. He spots his father sitting at their usual booths and smiles in greeting.

Fred returns the smile, nodding at his son, “Hey, Casanova. I, uh, ordered you the usual.”

“Thanks, Dad. I’m just gonna go wash my hands.”

He quickly washes his hands, tearing some paper towel off the roll to dry his hands with. 

Archie leaves the bathroom and stops dead in his tracks, seeing the gunman who spots him after a second. 

His dad jumps in front of him as the masked man points the gun at him, Archie squeezes his eyes shut at the loud bang.

Just like that, his whole world comes crashing down around him.


End file.
